Health care workers face an escalating mental health crisis that is made worse by increased harassment, according to results from a new CDC Vital Signs report.
“The COVID-19 pandemic only intensified many health care workers’ long-standing challenges and contributed to new and worsening concerns, including compassion fatigue, depression, anxiety, substance use disorders and suicidal thoughts,” Debra Houry, MD, MPH, the CDC’s chief medical officer, said in a press conference.
As a result, “burnout among these workers has reached crisis levels,” Houry said.
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