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  • Writer's pictureAMRF

Covid-19 impact on nurse wellbeing: Identification, sustainability and mitigation

Updated: Aug 14, 2020

Dr Matthew Roskruge, Massey University, Massey Business School

Dr Matthew Roskruge is a Kiwi health economist currently working

to investigate how New Zealand’s nursing workforce is managing in the Covid-19 crisis, and what measures are needed to sustain an already-pressured sector of healthcare.

“Nurses are working on the front lines and experiencing the risks and vulnerabilities not only to themselves but also their whanau. Serious mental health consequences such as anxiety and depression may result, harming wellbeing and undermining our health system,” he says.

Dr Roskruge will work with Associate Professor Margaret Brunton and Dr Catherine Cook, both of whom are internationally recognised researchers and former frontline nurses. Together they aim to “change the way we value and support our nurses” and address workforce sustainability with resilience strategies for nursing staff and their employers.

“Nurses comprise a large, diverse and essential population within the health workforce. While they are trained to deal with the many challenges working in health presents, this pandemic creates new stressors and vulnerabilities, placing strain on their wellbeing. Nursing staff are central to the provision of clinical and community healthcare, and their wellbeing during times of crises such as the Covid-19 pandemic is of primary importance to the nursing workforce and the entirety of our health system.” Dr Roskruge explains.

Outputs from this research will include journal articles, non-expert reporting for stakeholders and dissemination workshops. These will provide an outlet for nurses in the Auckland region to voice their experiences of the pandemic, create new world-class scientific knowledge into the impacts on nurse wellbeing and enable the development of innovative resilience, sustainability and mitigation strategies. Through this research, the team will contribute to the understanding and supporting of nurse wellbeing during times of crisis.

Dr Matthew Roskruge is an emerging health economist, with a strong background in applied quantitative methods and a decade of experience working as a mental health support worker in community and residential settings.

AMRF have awarded Dr Roskruge and his team funding of $31,494 to support their investigation.


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