Matched Emotional Supports in Health Care (MESH) Framework: A Stepped Care Model for Health Care Workers

Frontline health care workers (HCWs) are experiencing a range of emotional responses to the COVID-19 pandemic, including anxiety, traumatic stress, and burnout. As many as half of all HCWs will exhibit clinically significant distress. This distress may endure for years, and health care institutions...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Families systems & health 2021-09, Vol.39 (3), p.493-498
Main Authors: Price, Julia, Becker-Haimes, Emily M., Benjamin Wolk, Courtney
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Anxiety
Burn out (Psychology)
Burnout
Continuum of Care
COVID-19
Distress
Drug Therapy
Epidemics
Health aspects
Health care
Health Care Services
Health Personnel
Human
Intervention
Medical personnel
Mental health care
Occupational health and safety
Occupational safety and health
Occupational Stress
Pandemics
Posttraumatic Stress
Prevention
Primary care
Psychological aspects
Psychological Needs
Risk factors
Self-Help Techniques
Social networks
Social support
Stress (Psychology)
Stress Management
United States
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Summary:Frontline health care workers (HCWs) are experiencing a range of emotional responses to the COVID-19 pandemic, including anxiety, traumatic stress, and burnout. As many as half of all HCWs will exhibit clinically significant distress. This distress may endure for years, and health care institutions must respond to these emotional needs. We propose the Matched Emotional Supports in Health Care (MESH) Framework to guide institutions in implementing a tiered, or "stepped care" model for deploying sustainable emotional support programs for HCWs for COVID-19 and beyond. Recognizing the variability in HCWs' response to stress, MESH outlines a continuum of services, including universal (e.g., self-help), selected (e.g., support from trained volunteers), and indicated (e.g., professional therapy, psychotropic medication management) interventions matched to individual need. We provide a targeted review of evidence-based resources available at each level of care and potential processes for determining when higher levels of care are needed. Finally, we delineate key implementation factors for institutions to consider in developing, implementing, and sustaining services for HCWs. Employing the MESH Framework may also facilitate health care institutions' ability to meet the fourth aim of the Quadruple Aims of Health Care to ensure a healthy workforce for this and future crises. Public Significance StatementFrontline health care workers in the era of COVID-19 need access to emotional support services. This article provides a framework to guide health care institutions in developing emotional and mental health supports for their workforce during these unprecedented times.
ISSN:1091-7527
1939-0602
DOI:10.1037/fsh0000600