An Evaluation of Fiona Stanley Fremantle Hospital Group’s Tiered Psychological Wellbeing and Support Program for Work related stress and distress
Hyranthi Kavanagh1, Mike Monisse-Redman1, Rosie Blackburn2, Natalie Gasson21Fiona Stanley Fremantle Hospitals Group, Murdoch, Western Australia, Australia2Curtin University School of Population Health, Curtin, Western Australia, Australia
Abstract
Background: Coronavirus disease -19 has added increased pressure on hospital systems and subsequently contributed to increased compassion fatigue and staff burnout. This study evaluated the Fiona Stanley Fremantle Hospital Group (FSFHG) Tiered Psychological Wellbeing and Support Program (TPWSP). The tiers include voluntary specialised Team Psychological First Aid after a critical clinical incident; voluntary Education or Reflective seminars on staff wellbeing; and 1:1 Psychological Wellbeing therapeutic sessions offered in house. This evaluation also looked at the impact of burnout and stigma on the type of psychological support accessed by healthcare workers.
Method: In phase one, 381 satisfaction forms from the TPWSP were analysed to evaluate overall healthcare worker satisfaction. In phase two, 54 healthcare workers completed an online survey measuring self-stigma, public stigma, and burnout and the type of psychological support healthcare workers sought (no help, TPWSP, employee assistance program, or other external support).
Results:. In phase 1, FSFHG ran 248 TSWSP sessions, and overall satisfaction for all tiers of the program was above 72%. In phase 2, a logistical regression found healthcare worker profession and self-stigma were the two significant predictors for the type of help sought. With increased self-stigma significantly impacting healthcare workers to choose no support over internal support, b = -.27, Wald χ2(1) = 5.60, p = .018.
Implications: The current service evaluation shows that FSFHG TPWSP is being utilised by healthcare workers, and the importance of reducing self-stigma within healthcare workers, to encourage them to seek psychological support when needed.
Biography
Hyranthi Kavanagh is a Consultant Clinical Psychologist and Head of Department, Clinical Psychology and Neuropsychology, Fiona Stanley Fremantle Hospitals. Hyranthi has over 20 years’ experience in clinical practice and teaching in WA DoH and the NHS. She has worked in a variety of clinical and operational leadership roles within DoH and in private practice. Hyranthi led the pioneering work in WA during COVID-19 in supporting our health care staff manage and respond to the pandemic and its psychological sequala, establish Psychological First Aid for all staff post-critical events and deliver Staff Psychological Wellbeing and Support to health care workers.