Understanding the impact of working at home during the Covid-19 pandemic on NHS workers is at the centre of funded research by Exercise, Sport & Rehabilitative Therapies academics.
Research led by Dr Lisa Board, Principal Lecturer and Team Leader of the Exercise, Sport & Rehabilitative Therapies team, has been awarded £15,000 to examine how changes in working conditions have affected physical and mental health and wellbeing within the North East & North Cumbria Integrated Care System (NENC ICS) team, that works across all 12 regional NHS Trusts and Clinical Commissioning Groups.
Over the past 12 months, several of the staff have been home based and some initial actual or potential concerns, or pressures, are developing in terms of how being home based affects them currently but also how it may impact them (and their employers) on a medium to long term basis. This is wide ranging in terms of posture, activity and general wellbeing. Whilst pre pandemic many employers had strong preventative and supportive intervention, large swathes of staff are now working in environment which are far removed from what would have been acceptable. Moving less, eating more (or erratically) and staring for successive hours at a screen are all now commonplace, coupled with the absence of social contact.
The NENC ICS Mental Health Programme have engaged the services of the University of Sunderland in order to support an academic study of the current and future impact of home working on staff working in Health and Social Care. Sport and Exercise Scientists within The Exercise, Sport and Rehabilitative Therapies Team are working with the mental health programme to explore the current challenge to help inform effective organisational and individual solutions for those staff who are home based. Sport and Exercise Sciences as a discipline have a long tradition studying the body in health and disease with a view to seeking ways to enhance the physical and mental health of the population. The joint working approach with the mental health programme has enabled an evidence informed proposal to be progressed.
The ongoing research consists of an online survey using evidence-based measurement tools. The explorations are far and wide, and the resulting report will inform service provision for the staff wellbeing (resilience) hub as well as how collectively employers can respond at an organisational level.
