The Trauma and Recovery Research Lab at St. Joseph’s Healthcare Hamilton, McMaster University, Homewood Research Institute and Homewood Health has been awarded a combined $3.4 million in grants to expand critical trauma research and knowledge mobilization efforts among healthcare workers and public safety personnel. The group is comprised of trauma and anxiety experts led by Dr. Margaret McKinnon.
The ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, which has caused tremendous stress on the healthcare system, has led to increased anxiety, and deteriorating mental health among healthcare workers. Hospitals operating beyond capacity, staff shortages, and other factors have made these already difficult professions even more stressful.
“Our own data suggest that one in four healthcare workers report symptoms consistent with a probable diagnosis of PTSD. One in two healthcare workers in our study report they are considering leaving their current position due to moral distress encountered during the pandemic. These data point to the enormous sacrifice of healthcare workers and their families throughout the pandemic and highlight further the current threat to the continuity of our healthcare system,” said Margaret McKinnon, Homewood Chair in Mental Health and Trauma, Professor of Psychiatry and Behavioural Neurosciences at McMaster University and Research Lead of the Mental Health and Addiction pillar at St. Joe’s.
The bulk of the new funding comes from a $2.9 million grant from the Public Health Agency of Canada (PHAC), which will be used to support not only ongoing surveillance of the impact of the pandemic on the mental health and wellbeing of healthcare workers but also the development of online tools and resources to support their mental health needs and to assist their supporters.
“This grant will allow us to develop urgently needed tools and resources that we will share with our partners, including the Canadian Federation of Nurses, the Canadian Medical Association, and Canada’s Wellness Together Portal, as well as continue to monitor the mental health of Canadian healthcare workers in this stage of the pandemic,” McKinnon added.
With the new funding, the Trauma and Recovery Research Lab will build on work that was first established under a generous donation of $1 million from Homewood Health. This initial grant allowed researchers to characterize the impact of the pandemic on the mental health of healthcare workers and to train Homewood clinicians to deliver culturally competent care to this vital population.
In addition to the $2.8 million from PHAC, the team has been granted a second award of $500,000 from the Canadian Institutes of Health Research (CIHR) to build upon their existing work to characterize the impact of the pandemic on public safety personnel and to build an analogous set of tools and resources for this vital workforce. Together, these grants will help researchers build new online knowledge mobilization products to support Canadian healthcare workers and public safety personnel, including the provisioning of online, trauma-informed training for peer supporters and primary care providers, as well as establish a social media presence.
Earlier this year, the Trauma Research Group’s characterization data was shared in a briefing note to government and other key stakeholders, adding to the chorus of voices in Canada who have expressed concern over the mental health of these key demographic.
As the inaugural Homewood Chair in Mental Health and Trauma, McKinnon acknowledged the support of the Chair in conducting this work. It was created in April 2018 as a partnership between Homewood Health, Homewood Research Institute, St. Joe’s, and McMaster University.
“It is an honour to serve in this role and I could not be more grateful to the Schlegel family and Homewood Health for their support of this Chair,” said McKinnon.