Abstract
[This is an excerpt.] Having a family member who is a health careworker presents special challenges for those who love them. If you are a spouse, significant other,parent, or friend of a health care worker who has been on the frontline during the COVID-19pandemic, you are likely struggling with how to best support them through this time of crisis. While these health care workers are experiencing the same disruptions and challenges most adults in our country are experiencing, including social isolation,financial insecurities, and extreme changes in daily routines, they are also experiencing unique stressors that cannot be underestimated. In the early days and weeks of the pandemic, our health care workers had to deal with fear of the unknown and the uncertainly about how to protect themselves and their families from this novel coronavirus. Access to personal protective equipment (PPE) was limited, and concerns grew daily about bed and ventilator availability and the adequacy of nursing and physician staffing. The physical exhaustion of long hours, the need to don full PPE for every patient contact, continually changing procedures, working in isolation, and being in a constant state of high alert quickly began taking a physical toll. But the unseen emotional toll may be even greater than the physical toll. Nurses, doctors, and other health care workers all share the challenges of watching so many physically suffer, having patients die alone, supporting family members who can’t be at the bedside of their loved ones due to visitor restrictions, and being unable to do more. We have called these health care workers “heroes,”as indeed they are. Now we need to acknowledge that they are also human and require special supports to ensure that their personal physical and emotional needs are met. By understanding their needs, you as a family member or a friend are in a unique position to provide these tailored supports. Consider the following steps,modeled from the NOVA Crisis Response, for supporting your special health care worker throughout this COVID-19 pandemic. [To read more, click View Resource.]
This resource is found in our Actionable Strategies for Working & Learners: What the Public Can Do
