Editorial: Mental health of healthcare professionals

• Authors: Feng Jiang, Shanghai Jiao Tong University; Huanzhong Liu, Anhui Medical University; Yilang Tang, Emory University
• Journal Title: Frontiers in Psychology
• Volume: Volume 13
• Publisher: © 2022 Jiang, Liu and Tang. | 2022-12-09
• Type of Work: Article | Final Publisher PDF
• Publisher DOI: http://doi.org/10.3389/fpsyg.2022.1093569
• Subjects: Health Sciences, Mental Health
• Keywords: mental health

Abstract

According to the World Health Organization, mental health is defined as a state of mental wellbeing that enables individuals to cope with stresses, realize their abilities, work well, learn well, and contribute to society (World Health Organization., 2003). Compared to the general population, healthcare professionals are more likely to encounter mental health problems, and these symptoms not only affect the wellbeing of those affected but also often negatively impact the healthcare quality and workforce sustainability (Windover et al., 2018; Anderson et al., 2021; Hodkinson et al., 2022). On the other hand, mental health is considered an integral and essential component of health, and it is also a type of health human capital (Hooker, 2021), which can be invested and maintained (Lim et al., 2018; Stein and Sridhar, 2019; Wang et al., 2021). Recent studies suggested that, in the setting of the COVID-19 pandemic, the overall mental health status of healthcare professionals has worsened due to multiple factors, including heavier workload, fear of COVID-19, psychological distress, and other environmental factors (Labrague and de Los Santos, 2021). Therefore, the mental health issue of healthcare professionals deserves more attention from researchers and policymakers (Spoorthy et al., 2020).