We need your voice, your experience needs to be heard and respected.
Victorian researchers are investigating the experiences of frontline healthcare workers. This study has kindly been funded by a research grant from the Royal Melbourne Hospital Foundation.
Please take the survey examining the psychosocial impacts of COVID-19. Click on the link below to find out more information and commence the survey.
https://covid-19-frontline.
Information for participants
The research team, which represents multiple universities and healthcare organisations, and importantly includes frontline health care workers, is undertaking a research survey to investigate the extent of mental health, psychosocial and workplace issues experienced by frontline health workers during the COVID-19 pandemic. As frontline health staff work in stressful environments under usual working conditions, it is crucial that we understand the additional burdens that crises such as pandemics generate and how best support programs can respond to these events.
This survey is open to medical, nursing, allied health, clinical scientists/ physiologists/technicians, healthcare students and other staff working in frontline health departments including: emergency, critical care, respiratory medicine, general medicine, infectious diseases, palliative care and hospital aged care. People working in other areas, such as other medical specialties, surgical/perioperative care, primary care and paramedicine are also welcome to participate if they wish to. Participants do not need to have worked with people with COVID-19 to take part, as any one working in these areas can participate.
This study has received ethics approval form the Melbourne Health Human Research Ethics Committee (HREC 2020.241), in accordance with the requirements for National Mutual Acceptance Scheme (NMA). The NMA is a system for mutual acceptance of scientific and ethical review of human research projects conducted in health services across multiple Australian jurisdictions, including Victoria and South Australia. Most health services accept the NMA, however, you may wish to check with your research office whether additional approvals are required.
Asking health workers to reflect on the changes that have occurred during the pandemic may cause some distress, and we encourage health workers to seek support if this is the case. Recommended telephone support lines, web based resources and apps offered by the following organisations may be of assistance:
- Black Dog Institute: https://www.
blackdoginstitute.org.au/ - Lifeline: Ph 131114 or https://www.lifeline.org.
au/ - Beyond Blue: 1300 22 46736 or https://www.beyondblue.org.
au/ - Pandemic Kindness provides resources for clinicians: https://aci.
health.nsw.gov.au/covid19/ kindness/safety
