The COVID-19 pandemic has placed an immense burden on Healthcare Workers (HCWs) and their families, with ongoing mental health challenges that persist even as the immediate impacts of the pandemic subside. These challenges also extend to their families, affecting partners and children who face unique stresses from the pandemic’s effects on the lives of HCWs.
Our team of Clinical Psychologists and mental health researchers at Deakin University are leading a two-year project seeking to address these challenges by identifying the mental health and family support needs of HCWs and their families, and co-designing a tailored intervention that improves their overall wellbeing. Our aim is to help prevent mental health decline, reduce burnout, and improve retention in the healthcare workforce through a family-centred intervention.
Previous findings from our research have shown that HCWs and their families are particularly vulnerable to mental health challenges, including burnout, depression, anxiety, PTSD, and disrupted family dynamics. Despite the significant impacts of the pandemic, there is a lack of targeted interventions designed to support both healthcare workers and their families. This project aims to fill these gaps by identifying their unique support needs and developing a tailored intervention to improve their overall mental health and wellbeing.
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Project goals
The main goals of the project are to:
- Identify Support Needs: Work directly with HCWs and their families to understand their mental health and family support needs.
- Co-Design an Intervention: Use these insights to develop a family-focused intervention that supports HCWs and their families.
- Pilot the Intervention: Implement the intervention on a small scale to assess its effectiveness and potential for wider use across the healthcare system.
Project phases
The project will be conducted in three key phases.
Phase 1: Identifying Needs and Preferences
We will begin by conducting a Delphi study, a structured process to gather insights and reach consensus among HCWs and their families. Through interviews and surveys, we will explore what mental health and wellbeing supports are needed by HCWs and their families. After gathering this data, participants will rank the most important supports, and this feedback will inform the next phase of the project
Phase 2: Co-Designing an Intervention
Using the insights from Phase 1, we will co-design a systemic intervention with HCWs and their families. This intervention will focus on mental health, family functioning, and overall wellbeing.
Phase 3: Piloting an Intervention
The co-designed intervention will be piloted to evaluate its effectiveness and potential for larger-scale implementation.
This project is supported by leading researchers in mental health and wellbeing, working in collaboration with healthcare organizations and government bodies to ensure that the findings can be rapidly translated into practice and policy.
Meet the team
Chief Investigators
- Jade Sheen
- Andrea Reupert
- Leanne Boyd
- Alison Hutchinson
- Bodil Rasmussen
- Anastasia Hutchinson
- Jane McGillivray
- Brian McGuire
- Sinead McGilloway
- Paul Buntine
- David Skvarc
- Elizabeth Clancy
Research Working Group
- Brian Lee
- Emily Chan
- Caitlyn Ann Herrick
- Addy Dunkley-Smith
- Tomer Berkowitz
- Carrie Erwin
- Kate Pham
- Shani Tron
- Hannah Michelle LaFontaine
Consumer Representatives
- Hana Menzes
- Natalie Jones
- Ginger Nelson
- Michael John Killen