Lance's Corner

CDC Highlights New Web Site, Health Care Worker Mental Health, and National Women's Health Week

May 16, 2024

Per the notice below, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) is highlighting three topics: 1) the new CDC Web site; 2) health care worker mental health; and 3) National Women's Health Week.

Screenshots of the old and new site look of cdc.gov
A New CDC.gov 
 
The new CDC.gov features refreshed content and is easier to use.  Experience enhanced usability, improved content, and reduced clutter.
Three women jogging outdoors
Celebrating Women’s Health Week!
 
Taking care of yourself includes caring for your physical, mental, social, and emotional health.  Practice healthy behaviors to get the care you need.

Health Worker Mental Health


African American woman nurse making a heart shape with her hands while smiling and standing in a hospital.

May is Mental Health Awareness Month.  Join the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH) in bringing attention and encouraging steps to improve health worker mental health.

Building Workplaces Where Health Workers Can Thrive

Challenging work conditions put over 20 million U.S. health workers at risk for mental health issues, but supportive work environments can help protect their well-being.  Health workers include everyone working in patient care, such as nurses, physicians, home health aides, and medical assistants.  It also includes many others who serve in critical support roles as well as public health workers.  The challenges they face in the workplace include long hours, staffing shortages, and exposure to violence and harassment [1].

Mental health concerns among health workers include stress, burnout, depression, anxiety, substance use disorders, and suicidal behavior.  Burnout and poor mental health outcomes are longstanding concerns made worse by the unique challenges of the pandemic.

A recent CDC Vital Signs, authored by NIOSH, compared data in 2018, before the pandemic, with data in 2022, after the onset of the pandemic.  It found that health workers are facing a mental health crisis [2]:

  • More than double the number of health workers reported harassment at work in 2022 than in 2018.
  • Nearly half of health workers (46%) reported often feeling burned out in 2022, up from 32% in 2018.
  • Nearly half of health workers (44%) intended to look for a new job in 2022, up from 33% in 2018.  Other research has shown the top reasons for leaving included insufficient staffing, intensity of workload, and the emotional toll of job [3].

Policies and Practices to Promote Well-being

While these findings are concerning, the Vital Signs study also showed certain workplace policies and practices can promote well-being.  Health workers reported fewer mental health issues when they said they work in a supportive environment.  Aspects of a support environment includes:

  • Participation in workplace decisions
  • Trust between management and workers
  • Proactive and helpful supervisors that promote:
    • Stress prevention,
    • Psychological health,
    • Support for productivity,
    • A harassment-free workplace, and
    • Enough time to complete tasks.

NIOSH Resources to Improve Health Worker Mental Health

NIOSH is actively working to help address this issue through the Impact Wellbeing™ campaign.  It provides hospital leaders with evidence-informed solutions to reduce healthcare worker burnout, sustain wellbeing, and build a system where healthcare workers thrive.  It is designed to help hospital leaders go beyond encouraging self-care and individual resilience to focus on operational improvements.

Thumbnail image of NIOSH’s Impact Wellbeing Guide

On March 18, the first inaugural Health Workforce Well-being Day, NIOSH expanded the campaign with a new set of resources.  The Impact Wellbeing™ Guide: Taking Action to Improve Healthcare Worker Wellbeing was developed in partnership with the Dr. Lorna Breen Heroes’ Foundation.  The Guide has six evidence-informed Actions designed to improve the professional wellbeing of healthcare workers and strengthen hospital operations.  It was real-world tested for usability by six hospitals within the CommonSpirit Health system across the United States.

In addition to the Guide, Impact Wellbeing has several web resources:

NIOSH has also helped update the science around health worker mental health through a supplemental issue of the American Journal of Public Health.  Sponsored and edited by NIOSH, the issue focused on the theme Addressing the Current Crisis and Building a Sustainable Future.  The fifteen articles provide updated data, original research, and perspectives from organizations taking action to improve health worker mental health.  The special issue is open access.

Finally, NIOSH published a new training, Understanding and Preventing Burnout among Public Health Workers: Guidance for Public Health Leaders.  It helps managers and supervisors prevent burnout in the public health workers they lead and in themselves.  This free online training has a modular format to help busy supervisors fit it into their schedules.  Participants learn about demands that contribute to burnout and resources that can protect workers from burnout.  The course also uses a multi-level framework for choosing among evidence-based interventions.

How You Can Help

Learn more about Impact Wellbeing, health workers and mental health, and about mental health in general.  Visit the NIOSH Total Worker Health® Program and the Healthy Work Design and Well-Being Program to learn more about how work conditions and work design impact worker well-being.

Share resources with health workers.  NIOSH has training and resources for health workers on stress, fatigue, burnout, substance use, and suicide.  You can also share the following resources:

If you or someone you know needs support now, call or text 988 or chat 988lifeline.org.  988 connects you with a trained crisis counselor who can help.

If you or someone you know needs assistance (in English or Spanish) with mental health concerns and/or substance use disorders, prevention, and recovery, please contact SAMHSA’s National Helpline at 1-800-662-HELP (4357) or visit https://www.samhsa.gov/find-help.

References

[1] National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine [2019].  Taking action against clinician burnout: A systems approach to professional well-being.  Washington, DC: The National Academies Press.

[2] Nigam JA, Barker RM, Cunningham TR, Swanson NG, Chosewood LC.  Vital Signs: Health Worker–Perceived Working Conditions and Symptoms of Poor Mental Health — Quality of Worklife Survey, United States, 2018–2022.  MMWR Morb Mortal Wkly Rep 2023;72:1197–1205, http://dx.doi.org/10.15585/mmwr.mm7244e1.

[3] Berlin G, Lapointe M, Murphy M [2022].  Surveyed nurses consider leaving direct patient care at elevated rates.  McKinsey & Company, February 17, https://www.mckinsey.com/industries/healthcare-systems-and-services/our-insights/surveyed-nurses-consider-leaving-direct-patient-care-at-elevated-rates.

USDOL Issues Comprehensive Employer Guidance on Long COVID

The United States Department of Labor (USDOL) has issued a comprehensive set of resources that can be accessed below for employers on dealing with Long COVID.

Supporting Employees with Long COVID: A Guide for Employers

The “Supporting Employees with Long COVID” guide from the USDOL-funded Employer Assistance and Resource Network on Disability Inclusion (EARN) and Job Accommodation Network (JAN) addresses the basics of Long COVID, including its intersection with mental health, and common workplace supports for different symptoms.  It also explores employers’ responsibilities to provide reasonable accommodations and answers frequently asked questions about Long COVID and employment, including inquiries related to telework and leave.

Download the guide

Accommodation and Compliance: Long COVID

The Long COVID Accommodation and Compliance webpage from the USDOL-funded Job Accommodation Network (JAN) helps employers and employees understand strategies for supporting workers with Long COVID.  Topics include Long COVID in the context of disability under the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA), specific accommodation ideas based on limitations or work-related functions, common situations and solutions, and questions to consider when identifying effective accommodations for employees with Long COVID.  Find this and other Long COVID resources from JAN, below:

Long COVID, Disability and Underserved Communities: Recommendations for Employers

The research-to-practice brief “Long COVID, Disability and Underserved Communities” synthesizes an extensive review of documents, literature and data sources, conducted by the USDOL-funded Employer Assistance and Resource Network on Disability Inclusion (EARN) on the impact of Long COVID on employment, with a focus on demographic differences.  It also outlines recommended actions organizations can take to create a supportive and inclusive workplace culture for people with Long COVID, especially those with disabilities who belong to other historically underserved groups.

Read the brief

Long COVID and Disability Accommodations in the Workplace

The policy brief “Long COVID and Disability Accommodations in the Workplace” explores Long COVID’s impact on the workforce and provides examples of policy actions different states are taking to help affected people remain at work or return when ready.  It was developed by the National Conference of State Legislatures (NCSL) as part of its involvement in USDOL’s State Exchange on Employment and Disability (SEED) initiative.

Download the policy brief

Understanding and Addressing the Workplace Challenges Related to Long COVID

The report “Understanding and Addressing the Workplace Challenges Related to Long COVID” summarizes key themes and takeaways from an ePolicyWorks national online dialogue through which members of the public were invited to share their experiences and insights regarding workplace challenges posed by Long COVID.  The dialogue took place during summer 2022 and was hosted by USDOL and its agencies in collaboration with the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and the U.S. Surgeon General.

Download the report

Working with Long COVID

The USDOL-published “Working with Long COVID” fact sheet shares strategies for supporting workers with Long COVID, including accommodations for common symptoms and resources for further guidance and assistance with specific situations.

Download the fact sheet

COVID-19: Long-Term Symptoms

This USDOL motion graphic informs workers with Long COVID that they may be entitled to temporary or long-term supports to help them stay on the job or return to work when ready, and shares where they can find related assistance.

Watch the motion graphic

A Personal Story of Long COVID and Disability Disclosure

In the podcast “A Personal Story of Long COVID and Disability Disclosure,” Pam Bingham, senior program manager for Intuit’s Diversity, Equity and Inclusion in Tech team, shares her personal experience of navigating Long COVID symptoms at work.  The segment was produced by the USDOL-funded Partnership on Employment and Accessible Technology (PEAT) as part of its ongoing “Future of Work” podcast series.

Listen to the podcast

HHS OIG Issues Annual Report on State MFCUs

Per the notice below, the Office of the Inspector General (OIG) of the United States Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) has issued its annual report on the performance of state Medicaid Fraud Control Units (MFCUs).

Medicaid Fraud Control Units Fiscal Year 2023 Annual Report (OEI-09-24-00200) 

Medicaid Fraud Control Units (MFCUs) investigate and prosecute Medicaid provider fraud and patient abuse or neglect. OIG is the Federal agency that oversees and annually approves federal funding for MFCUs through a recertification process. This new report analyzed the statistical data on annual case outcomes—such as convictions, civil settlements and judgments, and recoveries—that the 53 MFCUs submitted for Fiscal Year 2023.  New York data is as follows:

Outcomes

  • Investigations1 - 556
  • Indicted/Charged - 9
  • Convictions - 8
  • Civil Settlements/Judgments - 28
  • Recoveries2 - $73,204,518

Resources

  • MFCU Expenditures3 - $55,964,293
  • Staff on Board4 - 257

1Investigations are defined as the total number of open investigations at the end of the fiscal year.

2Recoveries are defined as the amount of money that defendants are required to pay as a result of a settlement, judgment, or prefiling settlement in criminal and civil cases and may not reflect actual collections.  Recoveries may involve cases that include participation by other Federal and State agencies.

3MFCU and Medicaid Expenditures include both State and Federal expenditures.

4Staff on Board is defined as the total number of staff employed by the Unit at the end of the fiscal year.

Read the Full Report

View the Statistical Chart

Engage with the Interactive Map

GAO Issues Report on Medicaid Managed Care Service Denials and Appeal Outcomes

The United States Government Accountability Office (GAO) has issued a report on federal use of state data on Medicaid managed care service denials and appeal outcomes.  GAO found that federal oversight is limited because it doesn't require states to report on Medicaid managed care service denials or appeal outcomes and there has not been much progress on plans to analyze and make the data publicly available.  To read the GAO report on federal use of state data on Medicaid managed care service denials and appeal outcomes, use the first link below.  To read GAO highlights of the report on federal use of state data on Medicaid managed care service denials and appeal outcomes, use the second link below.
https://www.gao.gov/assets/d24106627.pdf  (GAO report on federal use of state data on Medicaid managed care service denials and appeal outcomes)
https://www.gao.gov/assets/d24106627_high.pdf  (GAO highlights on federal use of state data on Medicaid managed care service denials and appeal outcomes)

CMS Issues Latest Medicare Regulatory Activities Update

The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) has issued its latest update on its regulatory activities in the Medicare program.  While dentistry is only minimally connected to the Medicare program, Medicare drives the majority of health care policies and insurance reimbursement policies throughout the country.  Therefore, it always pays to keep a close eye on what CMS is doing in Medicare.  To read the latest CMS update on its regulatory activities in Medicare, use the link below.
https://www.cms.gov/training-education/medicare-learning-network/newsletter/2024-03-14-mlnc