Almost three years into the pandemic, clinicians continue to face challenges as they witness the hardships and trauma their migrant agricultural worker patients have endured, as the pandemic bared down hardest on those already facing health challenges and access issues.1,2,3 Witnessing the preventable health disparities that these communities experience because of economic and social inequities, weighs heavily on these clinicians. But clinicians like community health workers -- who have a strong connection to the communities they serve, including migrant agricultural worker communities – often lack resources to support their own well-being in the midst of the suffering they see daily.
Because of the close connection, community health workers sometimes shoulder additional burdens. The fine line between their personal and professional life and the stress and heaviness of the work cause feelings of guilt when thinking of their own well-being.
Migrant Clinicians Network’s Witness to Witness program provides culturally and linguistically appropriate resources to help clinicians cope during difficult and challenging times. Our latest resource is an eight-page comic that takes us through what community health workers experience when they forget to take care of themselves. The comic is short and filled with bright colors, making it accessible and easy to read. The comic is currently available in English and Spanish at the Witness to Witness webpage: https://www.migrantclinician.org/resource/helping-helpers-comic-book.html.
This resource is one of many that Witness to Witness has developed specifically for clinicians during the pandemic. Access numerous resources, many in English and Spanish, at the main Witness to Witness webpage: https://www.migrantclinician.org/w2w.
References:
1 Bryant-Genevier J, Rao CY, Lopes-Cardozo B, et al. Symptoms of Depression, Anxiety, Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder, and Suicidal Ideation Among State, Tribal, Local, and Territorial Public Health Workers During the COVID-19 Pandemic — United States, March–April 2021. MMWR Morb Mortal Wkly Rep 2021;70:1680–1685. DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.15585/mmwr.mm7048a6
2 Salgado de Snyder VN, Villatoro AP, McDaniel MD, Ocegueda AS, Garcia D, Parra-Medina D. Occupational Stress and Mental Health Among Healthcare Workers Serving Socially Vulnerable Populations During the COVID-19 Pandemic. Front Public Health. 2021;9:782846. Published 2021 Dec 9. doi:10.3389/fpubh.2021.782846
3 Mora AM, Lewnard JA, Rauch S, et al. Impact of COVID-19 Pandemic on California Farmworkers' Mental Health and Food Security. J Agromedicine. 2022;27(3):303-314. doi:10.1080/1059924X.2022.2058664
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