Who are health care providers?
There are countless roles that health care providers fill every day to keep civilians safe and healthy across Canada. HCPs include a wide range of workers who deliver care in emergency settings, such as:
- Nurses
- Personal support workers
- Doctors
- Orderlies
- Midwives
Their roles involve unique challenges, requiring awareness and culturally competent support.
- Awareness
- Sensitivity
- Knowledge
- Skills
Learning objectives
By the end of this section, you will be able to:
- Recognize how cultural background and biases influence the way health care providers are perceived and supported.
- Understand how these biases affect perceptions of health care providers’ mental health needs, particularly during emergencies.
Why this matters
Health care providers operate in high-pressure environments that can have lasting effects on their well-being. Your own views and assumptions about them can shape how they experience care and support. Reflecting on these biases helps foster better relationships and ensures they receive the care they need.
Understanding the scope of health care work in emergencies
During disasters, conflicts, and crises, health care providers take on physically and emotionally demanding roles. These jobs often involve:
- Long shifts with little rest
- High patient loads and exposure to suffering
- Ethical dilemmas when resources are limited
- Increased personal risk, as seen during the COVID-19 pandemic
A culture of resilience often discourages discussions about mental health, making it even harder for providers to seek help.
Recognizing the impact of social identity in high-stress situations
Social identity factors—such as race, gender, and socioeconomic status—can shape how health care providers experience crises.
- BIPOC (Black, Indigenous, and People of Colour) providers may face additional stress due to discrimination or language barriers.
- Immigrant and internationally trained health care workers may struggle with credential recognition, workplace biases, or lack of culturally appropriate support.
Reflective questions
- What assumptions do you have about health care providers’ mental health needs?
- How might these needs differ during emergencies compared to normal conditions?
- How do these challenges affect their ability to perform their jobs?
Learning objectives
By the end of this section, you will be able to:
- Develop emotional awareness of the stress and health challenges faced by front-line health care workers.
- Recognize how social and occupational factors contribute to their well-being.
Why this matters
Culturally sensitive care requires a willingness to understand the challenges faced by health care workers. Recognizing their experiences allows you to provide informed, compassionate support.
Emotional and mental health stressors for health care providers
It is important to recognize the emotional toll of front-line work and repeated exposure to trauma. Health care providers often experience:
- High levels of emotional exhaustion from continuous exposure to suffering and death.
- Limited time for recovery due to demanding shift structures.
- Increased rates of burnout, especially during prolonged crises like the COVID-19 pandemic.
A registered practical nurse (RPN) who worked during the COVID-19 pandemic shared:
“I used to blame myself a lot… I was supposed to be their caretaker, and I couldn’t take care of them because I couldn’t even take care of myself.”
Cultural sensitivity to mental health disparities in crisis response
Systemic barriers make it harder for some providers to access mental health support:
- Lower-income workers may struggle with costs, lack of paid leave, or culturally appropriate services.
- Workers from equity-denied groups may face microaggressions in addition to crisis-related stress.
A study from the Trauma & Recovery Research Unit at McMaster University found that:
- 40.6 per cent of racial/ethnic minority health care workers met the clinical threshold for PTSD.
- 55–65 per cent exhibited symptoms of depression, anxiety, and stress.
Reflective question
What emotions and concerns might health care workers experience during emergencies that are amplified by their roles?
Learning objectives
By the end of this section, you will be able to:
- Identify common mental health challenges faced by front-line health care workers during crises.
- Understand how cultural identity influences mental health experiences and coping strategies.
Why this matters
Health care providers working in emergency settings face significant mental health risks, which can persist long after the crisis ends. Recognizing these challenges allows you to support them more effectively.
Mental health risks about health care providers
Front-line health care workers in Canada commonly experience:
- Depression, anxiety, and burnout
- Sleep disturbances
- Posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD)
Disasters and emergencies increase the risk of PTSD due to repeated exposure to traumatic events. For example, emergency room doctors may develop anxiety and depression from constant high-stakes decision-making.
The role of cultural identity in mental health experiences
Cultural identity shapes mental health symptoms, coping mechanisms, and help-seeking behaviours. Some workers may prefer alternative forms of support, such as community or faith-based organizations.
A health care worker reflected on barriers for immigrant providers:
“Discussions around mental health and trauma culturally for some workers is something they’re very unaware of, or they’re not comfortable with, and so there’s not a lot of buy-in. And because most of that work is done by immigrant men and women, mostly women, I had wondered if part of the lack of uptake was… not awareness, or even that very basic beginning of, ‘Oh, just how are doing?’ or exploring some of those things.”
Reflective question
What specific stressors make health care workers working in emergency settings more susceptible to depression and anxiety?
Learning objectives
By the end of this section, you will be able to:
- Apply culturally aware skills to support front-line health care providers.
- Offer effective mental health support during emergencies and disasters.
Why this matters
Health care workers play a vital role during crises. To support them, you need to engage in empathetic, non-judgmental communication, address their unique health concerns, and provide resources that are accessible and culturally appropriate.
Building culturally competent communication skills
Supporting health care workers effectively means:
- Respecting cultural perspectives when discussing mental health.
- Listening actively and validating their experiences.
- Using trauma-informed approaches to recognize and address psychological distress.
- Including local mental health services in crisis planning to improve access.
A health care provider highlighted the lack of support available:
“I’ve met and worked with a lot of nurses who have experienced untold amounts of traumatic exposure — but there’s very little support for them in managing any of that and acknowledgement of it. If I had a magic wand, I’d create a clinic that does what we do but for health care people. And [I would] make it accessible.”
Building trust and rapport in crisis situations
Trust is key in culturally competent care. You can strengthen connections by:
- Providing support and resources in multiple languages, particularly for BIPOC health care workers.
- Recognizing how systemic factors impact their well-being.
- Creating spaces where workers feel safe discussing mental health concerns.
One worker shared how cultural identity impacted a colleague’s ability to speak up:
“A friend of mine who’s a brown woman — an immigrant [who] had a lot of trauma growing up, both in her family of origin and in systemic racism that she experienced elsewhere…. She felt very unsafe to speak up or share how her trauma helped her be empathetic with people…. She was someone who was told if this bothers you too much this is probably not the right work for you.”
Reflective question
How can you build trust with front-line health care workers while respecting diverse backgrounds?