(Dreamstime)

By David Opinko

70% of Canadian healthcare workers say mental health declined during pandemic

Feb 3, 2021 | 12:16 PM

LETHBRIDGE, AB – A new study from Stats Canada is confirming what many Canadians already knew to be true – the COVID-19 pandemic has been a difficult time for workers in the healthcare sector.

Approximately 18,000 healthcare workers from all provinces and territories participated in a crowdsourcing questionnaire that was open from November 24 to December 13.

It should be noted that crowdsourcing surveys are not considered to be “scientific” studies because it does not involve a random sample selection.

Comparing their current state to how they felt prior to March 2020 when the COVID-19 pandemic began in Canada, 70 per cent reported their mental health was either “somewhat worse now” or “much worse now”.

At the same time, just a third described their overall mental health as “fair” or “poor.” Equal portions said their mental health was good or excellent.

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When it comes to overall stress levels, 56 per cent chose the two highest categories, being “quite a bit stressful” or “extremely stressful.”

40 per cent said they have been working in direct contact with confirmed or suspected cases of COVID-19. Among those who have, 77 per cent said this direct contact had contributed to the worsening of their mental health.