Monday 12 May - Mental Health: Health Workforce at the Centre

Daily Partners: WHO/EURO Mental Health unit, Mental Health Europe, Health and care workforce section

Daily message

Mental health remains a pressing public health priority that demands sustained attention and action. At the heart of mental health care are the professionals who dedicate their lives to supporting others—yet their own well-being is often overlooked. Healthcare workers, social workers, and caregivers face immense stress, burnout, and resource shortages, all of which can compromise both their health and the quality of care they provide. If we want to build a truly resilient mental health system, we must prioritize and protect those who deliver it.

How can we better support the mental health of health and care professionals? What policies and structural changes are needed to ensure their well-being? How can innovation and technology help create a healthier, more sustainable workforce?

Sub-themes

• Burnout and mental health challenges in health and care.
• Policy solutions for a resilient health and care workforce.
• Training and education for mental health resilience.
• Workplace well-being initiatives in health and care.
• Harnessing digital innovation for health and care professionals.
• Community support and vulnerable groups.
• Mental health as key component of health security.
• Collaboration across disciplines for better mental health care.

By investing in the mental health and resilience of healthcare professionals, we strengthen the entire public health system—ensuring better care for patients and a healthier future for all.

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Optimising mental health of the health and care workforce
10:00 - 11:30 CEST

Organised by: WHO/EURO Mental Health unit, Mental Health Europe, Health and care workforce section

Mental health (MH) significantly impacts well-being, influencing physical health, social interactions, and economic productivity. MH conditions further represent a leading cause of disability in Europe, with a high burden on the overall healthcare system. Despite its importance, timely and equitable access to services is often complicated, resulting in worsening MH conditions, and increasing the risk of poor longer-term outcomes both for the individual and society.

Although many factors may underpin this picture, a critical issue arising in recent years – particularly during and after the COVID-19 pandemic – relates to the health workforce and the conditions under which they are working. Many health workers are reporting higher levels of stress and burnout, in parallel to a resource shortage. The declining mental health of the workforce may compromise the quality of care they provide, further limiting access to care. Concurrently, fewer young people are entering health careers, and MH careers particularly. Nursing professions are especially challenged. These issues have been related to, among other factors, long working hours with many shifts and little supervision, high turnover and few opportunities for career progression, high levels of stigma, especially related to mental health work, and moral injury. Health services are, in other words, not optimized for the mental health of their workforce.

Increasing access to quality mental health care and preventative services is a priority for countries, as identified in the EU-funded project “Addressing mental health challenges in the 27 European Union countries, Iceland and Norway,” coordinated by the WHO Regional Office for Europe. As part of a webinar series organized under this project, and in collaboration with the European Public Health Association under its annual European Public Health Week, WHO Regional Office for Europe is hosting a webinar aimed at exploring how to optimize mental health of the health and care workforce, supporting staff resilience and sense of meaning.

 Agenda Overview:
10:00 – 10:10 | Welcome Remarks

• Charlotte Marchandise (EUPHA)
  Ledia Lazeri (WHO Europe)

10:10 – 10:20 | Presentation: From Research to Policy

• Roberto Mediavilla Torres (Universidad Autónoma de Madrid)

10:20 – 10:30 | Presentation: Evidence vs. Policy

• Marius-Ionuț Ungureanu (Babeș-Bolyai University)
• Moderator: Jason Maurer (WHO Europe)

10:30 – 10:40 | Q&A Session
10:40 – 11:15 | Panel Discussion

• Miglė Trumpickaitė (European Junior Doctors Association)
• Julian Beezhold (European Psychiatric Association)
• Morgan Lucey (HSE, Ireland)
• Agita Melbārde-Kelmere (Rīga Stradiņš University)
• John Francis Leader (EFPA)
• Karilė Levickaitė (Mental Health Europe)
• Moderator: Giulio Castelpietra (WHO Europe)

11:15 – 11:25 | Audience Q&A
11:25 – 11:30 | Closing Remarks

• Cassie Redlich (WHO Europe)
• Monica Brinzac (EUPHW)

Register here!

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