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										Impact Wellbeing. Campaign Background©Maskot/Getty Images
The Need
**The*Impact Wellbeing*TM campaign gives hospital leaders evidence-informed solutions to reduce healthcare worker burnout and sustain wellbeing.**
Healthcare workers have historically faced challenging working conditions. Even before the pandemic, the National Academy of Medicine found that burnout had reached “crisis levels” among healthcare workers in the United States.1
While many hospitals have made strides to address healthcare worker wellbeing, it is critical to go beyond encouraging self-care. 2 Addressing workplace policies and practices is the best way to reduce burnout and support healthcare workers’ wellbeing. These operational changes can optimize patient outcomes and address costs associated with staff turnover, lost revenue, and threats to a hospital’s long-term viability. 1**Healthcare workers experience an increased risk of suicide and other poor mental health outcomes due to a variety of factors, including:**
Difficult working conditions,
Long work hours, rotating and irregular shifts,
Emotionally difficult situations with patients and patients’ family members,
Workplace violence, and
Routine exposure to human suffering and death.1,5,6Developed and implemented by the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH), the *Impact Wellbeing*campaign is made possible by the American Rescue Plan of 2021 and builds on momentum from the passage of the Dr. Lorna Breen Health Care Provider Protection Act. 3 The Act funds efforts to prevent mental and behavioral health conditions and increase access to evidence-based treatment for healthcare workers.Healthcare ProfessionalPhoto by ©Halfpoint Images/Getty Images
**According to a 2021 survey hosted by Mental Health America:**
**93%** of healthcare workers reported being stressed out and stretched too thin;
**82%** shared being emotionally and physically exhausted; and
**45%** of nurses reported that they were not getting enough emotional support. 4Campaign GoalsGroup Icon
**Engage hospital leaders to revise existing or implement new evidence-informed operational policies** that reduce burnout and improve professional wellbeing of hospital staff.Clipboard Icon
**Remove barriers and reduce the perceived stigma** that prevent healthcare workers from seeking mental health-related services and support.Hand holding heart Icon
**Reduce burnout and improve the professional wellbeing** of healthcare workers in hospital settings.AudiencesPerson with tie**Primary Audience:**
*Hospital Leaders:* Decision-makers within hospital systems, including Chief Executive Officers, Chief Operating Officers, Chief Administrative Officers, Chief Information Officers, Chief Medical Information Officers, Chief Medical Officers, Chief Nursing Officers, Chief Wellbeing Officers, and Chief Wellness OfficersPerson with medical cross**Secondary Audience:**
*Healthcare Workers:* Clinical care/patient-facing teams in hospital systems, including physicians, nurses, physician assistants, nurse practitioners, residents and fellows, and patient care technicians**While the campaign focuses on patient-facing healthcare workers in hospitals, organizational changes will also benefit non-clinical healthcare workers.****Why Hospital Leaders?**
Early campaign research showed that healthcare workers called for information from leaders at their hospital about available resources and services to improve staff wellbeing and mental health. Both groups also recognized that hospital leaders, not healthcare workers, must act — specifically to implement systemic changes needed to reduce burnout and enable support-seeking behaviors among staff.
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Campaign Messages
	The *Impact Wellbeing* campaign helps hospital leaders build a system where healthcare workers thrive.
While many hospitals have made strides to address healthcare worker wellbeing, it is critical to go beyond encouraging self-care.2,6
Individual resources for the healthcare workforce offer a strong starting point in providing support, but addressing workplace policies and practices is the best way to reduce burnout and strengthen professional wellbeing.1
Although some causes of burnout may take time to address, there are many feasible ways to champion a healthy workforce and hospital system.
Small steps like creating a professional wellbeing team, regular two-way communication with your workforce, or removing intrusive mental health questions on credentialing applications can markedly improve professional wellbeing.1,6,7,8
One of the most substantial systems barriers to healthcare worker wellbeing is intrusive mental health questions on hospital credentialing applications. 8, 9, 10
A primary driver of suicide in the healthcare workforce is the fear of judgment associated with talking about and seeking behavioral healthcare.8
Through the *Impact Wellbeing* campaign, NIOSH offers customizable and evidence-informed resources that hospital leaders can use to address the operational factors within a hospital that contribute to burnout.
For more than 50 years, NIOSH has empowered employers, including hospital leaders, with the strategies and resources critical to creating sustainable, safe workplaces.Campaign Development
	The *Impact Wellbeing* campaign was developed from a robust formative research process, including:
Background research on technological solutions and evidence-based interventions to address healthcare worker mental health.
Collaborative briefing sessions with healthcare organizations, labor unions, researchers, and non-profit organizations to gather input on audience targets, overall landscape knowledge, and employer best practices.
An environmental scan of existing communication campaigns and interventions that promote wellbeing among healthcare workers.
In-depth interviews with healthcare workers and hospital leaders to understand knowledge, attitudes, and beliefs and test draft messages.
Online bulletin boards with hospital leaders and healthcare workers to test creative concepts and assess communication preferences.Campaign Resources
	The *Impact Wellbeing*campaign materials equip hospital leaders with information, resources, and tools that guide them to improve their hospital operations in support of healthcare worker wellbeing. The campaign launched in 2023 with materials that educate hospital leaders about the importance of professional wellbeing and the need for hospital-wide changes to reduce burnout.
Forthcoming resources will include:
An actionable guide, tested in real-world settings, to help hospital leaders implement systems-level changes, from revising existing processes to making it safe for staff to access mental health care.
A communication toolkit to support hospital leaders in adopting and implementing the *Impact Wellbeing* materials and messages within their hospitals.Campaign Evaluation
	NIOSH will evaluate the *Impact Wellbeing*campaign’s performance and outcomes by conducting surveys with hospital leaders and healthcare workers and collecting data on campaign performance metrics.
NIOSH will also collect ongoing input from hospital leaders and healthcare workers to inform campaign development moving forward.Handshake superimposed over a healthcare cross*Impact Wellbeing* was developed by NIOSH in collaboration with the Dr. Lorna Breen Heroes’ Foundation to support hospital leaders, and in turn their healthcare workforce, to improve professional wellbeing.References1 National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine [2019]. Taking action against clinician burnout: A systems approach to professional well-being. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press.
2 American Hospital Association [2021]. AHA hospitals in action: Supporting care teams. Washington, DC: American Hospital Association.
3 Dr. Lorna Breen Heroes’ Foundation [n.d.]. The legislation: The Dr. Lorna Breen health care provider protection act. Charlottesville, VA: Dr. Lorna Breen Heroes’ Foundation.
4 Mental Health America [2021]. The mental health of healthcare workers in COVID-19. Alexandria, VA: Mental Health America.
5 Tiesman H, Weissman D, Stone D, Quinlan K, Chosewood LC [2021]. Suicide prevention for healthcare workers. NIOSH Science Blog, September 17.
6 U.S. Surgeon General [2022]. Addressing health worker burnout: The U.S. Surgeon General’s advisory on building a thriving health workforce. Washington, DC: Office of the Surgeon General.
7 Adams JM [2019]. The value of worker well-being. Public Health Reports 134(6):583-586.
8 American Hospital Association [2022]. Suicide prevention. Washington, DC: American Hospital Association.
9 Dr. Lorna Breen Heroes’ Foundation [2022]. Remove intrusive mental health questions from licensure and credentialing applications: A toolkit to audit, change, and communicate. Charlottesville, VA: Dr. Lorna Breen Heroes’ Foundation.
10 Moutier C [2018]. Physician mental health: An evidence-based approach to change. J Med Regul 104:7–13.Share your feedback
							
					
							Last Reviewed:  October 12, 2023						Source: 	National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health
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