Mental Health

Approximately 20% of people in Canada experience a mental health issue or illness every year, making mental health and well-being as important as physical health. The COVID-19 pandemic has exacerbated mental health concerns for many people, in particular for nurses and health-care providers. The increased workload, lack of resources and personal protective equipment (PPE), staffing shortages and concern for personal and family safety, as well as moral distress, have significantly contributed to worse mental health outcomes for the health-care workforce. CNA will continue to advocate on behalf of nurses to ensure their mental health and well-being are no longer overlooked.

Resources and Initiatives

CNA is a partner on the Healthy Professional Worker Partnership, which is conducting a study to examine the gendered nature of mental health issues, leaves of absence and return-to-work experiences of professional workers from a comparative perspective.

COVID-19-Related Occupational Burnout and Moral Distress Among Nurses: A Rapid Scoping Review: research paper in the Canadian Journal of Nursing Leadership

CNA’s Key Messages on COVID-19 and Mental Heath

Staying Healthy During a Pandemic

Mental Health & COVID-19: How COVID-19 is Impacting Canadians: report by Mental Health Research Canada that focused on frontline health-care workers

Advocacy

• CNA’s 2021 federal election platform recommendation on supporting health-care workers advocated for sustainable long-term mental health supports for health care workers.
• Briefing on the Emergency Situation Facing Canadians in Light of the Second Wave of the Covid-19 Pandemic (June 2021). CNA recommended strategies to support education and training of health-care workers to support Black, Indigenous and people of colour in pursuing nursing education.
• 2021 Federal Pre-budget Consultations: Submission to the Standing Committee on Finance: CNA recommended that the federal government invest in mental health supports for health-care workers.
• Briefing on the Canadian Response to the Outbreak of Coronavirus to the House of Commons Standing Committee on Health (May 2020) and the Senate Standing Committee on Social Affairs, Science and Technology (July 2020)
• Joint letter to Prime Minister Justin Trudeau with recommendations for Canada’s long-term recovery and the speech from the throne (September 2020): CNA advocated for increased investments towards mental health services for health-care workers