What accounts for turnover intention in the Australian public mental health workforce?

High staff turnover is common within the Australian public mental health workforce, contributing to workforce shortages and ultimately impacting the ability to provide stable efficient, effective, and ongoing optimal care to the community. In this study, we aimed to (a) establish the most pertinent factors associated with increased turnover intention in the public mental health workforce in Australia, and (b) establish whether such factors differ between metropolitan and rural services. We used a cross-sectional, correlational design using an online survey method. In total, 235 mental health service staff of various disciplines and levels, from four public hospitals in Victoria, Australia participated in the study. We used three feed-forward multiple regression analyses to assess the study aims. We found that job satisfaction, occupational burnout, and understaffing may be the most pertinent factors to consider regarding turnover intention. Job satisfaction and occupational burnout were factors endorsed across the entire sample, as well as specifically within both the metropolitan and rural services, while understaffing was a pertinent factor regarding turnover intention across the entire sample and for rural services, but not metropolitan services. Our findings regarding the pertinence of job satisfaction, occupational burnout, and understaffing in turnover intention provide key information that may be used to inform interventional targets aimed at reducing attrition from the public mental health workforce in Australia.

The impact of COVID-19 on the mental health workforce: A rapid review.

The COVID-19 pandemic led to significant adaptations to healthcare. Provision of mental healthcare in a changing environment presented healthcare workers with unique challenges and demands, including changes in workload and expectations. To inform current and future healthcare service responses, and adaptations, the current review aimed to collate and examine the impact of the pandemic on mental healthcare workers (MHWs). We conducted a rapid systematic review to examine the overall impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on MHWs. Searches were conducted in Ovid Medline and PsycInfo and restricted to articles published from 2020. Inclusion criteria specified articles written in English, published in peer-reviewed journals, and that examined any outcome of the impact of COVID-19 on MHWs; 55 articles fulfilled these criteria. Outcomes were categorized into 'work-related outcomes' and 'personal outcomes'. Mental healthcare workers worldwide experienced a range of work-related and personal adversities during the pandemic. Key work-related outcomes included increased workload, changed roles, burnout, decreased job satisfaction, telehealth challenges, difficulties with work-life balance, altered job performance, vicarious trauma and increased workplace violence. Personal outcomes included decreased well-being, increased psychological distress and psychosocial difficulties. These outcomes differed between inpatient, outpatient and remote settings. The COVID-19 pandemic significantly altered the delivery of mental healthcare and MHWs experienced both work-related and personal adversities during the COVID-19 pandemic. With the continuation of changes introduced to healthcare in the initial stages of the pandemic, it will be important to maintain efforts to monitor negative outcomes and ensure supports for MHWs, going forward.