Table of ContentsMental Health Essay OutlineIntroductionThe Role of Nurses in Maintaining Mental Well-beingChallenges Faced by NursesStrategies and Policies for Mental Health PromotionConclusionSample Essay on mental healthWorks Cited:Overview of Mental Health EssayIntroductionDefinition of mental health according to the World Health Organization (WHO)Importance of a support system for mental well-beingThe role of nurses in maintaining well-being -mental beingThe need for nurses to maintain holistic physical fitness for quality patient careResilience as a key attribute for nursesThe impact of psychosocial and environmental factors on mental healthChallenges faced by nursesThe stress and challenges of working in health care settingsShift work disorders and its consequencesPrevalence of bullying in the health sectorStrategies and policies to promote mental healthPolicies and guidelines to minimize shift work disordersMeasures to prevent workplace bullying workThe role of support systems for nurses' mental healthConclusionThe importance of mental well-being for nursesThe need for policies and support systems to promote mental health in the healthcare sectorExample essay on mental healthThe Mental health, as described by the World Health Organization (WHO, 2014), is a healthy state of mind in which a person knows their capabilities, ability to manage daily stress, able to work effectively, interact with others and get involved in the community. Additionally, a good support system such as friends, family, community and the healthcare system can promote mental well-being. While the promotion of mental health confirms the importance of psychological well-being which will enable an individual to develop their coping mechanism rather than improving symptoms of poor mental health (WHO, 2002). It is the duty of healthcare providers to provide and maintain an optimal level of holistic well-being of the patient. Therefore, nurses must maintain their physical, spiritual, social, emotional and psychological fitness to provide quality nursing care to patients. According to Kester and Wei (2018), one of the many strengths of nursing is essential to develop, as it is a skill in which a nurse is able to respond effectively and remain focused in a hostile environment and a master key to save time. service in nursing is a positive state of mind. In society, a wide variety of psychosocial and environmental aspects such as housing, education, salary, occupation, use of public services, community support and individual skills, in which all these determinants can transform into risk and protective factors that will affect people's psychological health. a person and a community (Margaret, 2007). Nursing can be mentally challenging, so it is essential to regulate workplace safety guidelines in hospitals as well as other organizations. Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on “Why Violent Video Games Should Not Be Banned”? Get an original essay Some people find that working in a hospital is both rewarding and stressful. Nurses are considered the backbone of hospitals; they see acute or complex cases every day. Like most workers, nurses have three rotating shifts each week andthere are full-time nurses and casual employees. Eldevik et al. (2013) found that nurses working with less than 11 hours between shifts may suffer from shift work disorder (SWD) related to rapid returns, meaning the work schedule is planned during shift hours. typical sleep. Evidence showed that men had a higher number of incidents than women and that the number of incidents increased significantly between nurses who had 30 prompt returns and no prompt returns duty. Eldevik et al. (2013) also mentioned that SWD develops when an individual is unable to coordinate their body clock during work schedules. While Uribe and Schub (2018) describe that people with ATD may exhibit an abnormal circadian rhythm due to sleep disturbances pattern that can lead to lethargy or insomnia, thus limiting the accomplishment of one's tasks. daily at the hospital. As a result, a reduction in the number of hours of sleep will stimulate the central nervous system's "fight or flight response" and may contribute to risk factors for stress-related illnesses (Uribe and Schub, 2018). Therefore, shift workers, including nurses, may be at greater risk of suffering from cardiovascular and gastroenterological diseases, depression and infertility, cancer and alterations in women's reproductive function (Costa, 2010 ). Additionally, Uribe and Schub (2018) found that employees may also suffer from chronic fatigue, inattention, inability to speak clearly, less productivity, job dissatisfaction, higher risks of workplace incidents. error and professional burnout. Therefore, rapid turnarounds of nursing staff can be avoided to optimize the quality of patient care around the clock. However, rotating shift work is inevitable in the healthcare industry. Costa (2010) suggests that managers and employees should be aware of the likelihood of adverse health effects when engaging in shift work. There are several policies, both here in Australia and overseas, that aim to minimize or even eliminate the stress of disability, in line with the framework of the Ottawa Charter for Health Promotion. One of its goals is to develop healthy public policy in the workplace. There is also a similar policy implemented in the United States by the Washington State Nurses Association, as mentioned by Ritcher et al. (2010) to combat fatigue and manage nurses' schedule change strategies, firstly, educate hospital management and employees on its negative impacts and recognize by the organization the potential risk of fatigue for the health and ensuring safety at work. Second, provide instruction and training on methods to relieve fatigue such as rest periods and finally, establish policies regarding shift work disorders (Ritcher et al, 2010). While the Australian Nursing and Midwifery Federation (ANMF, 2015) has clarified that nurses, midwives and nursing assistants are advised to engage in leisure activities, holidays, sport, rest and relaxation, because shift work has a major impact on mental, physical and psychosocial health. be. Furthermore, according to the ANMF company agreement (2016), “when overtime is worked, employees must benefit from at least 10 consecutive hours of rest between the end of the overtime and the next shift. successive work”. Thus, Australian nurses will benefit from the policies implementedimplemented by the government sector to promote work-life balance by sleeping enough hours between shifts and will improve an individual's quality of life. Another risk factor that can contribute to a negative impact on a nurse's mental health is the prevalence of harassment in an organization that threatens professional relationships between leaders and staff members, causing a lack of trust and decreased enthusiasm for work, leading to a noticeable deterioration in the quality of care. The World Health Organization (WHO, 2010) explains that a healthy workplace is cooperation between staff members and managers to demonstrate a developmental process aimed at safeguarding and preserving the well-being of the whole personnel and the maintainability of the organization. Unfortunately, bullying is common in today's increasingly complex and stressful environment like the hospital, as evidenced by the Australian Nursing and Midwifery (2018) review that almost 50% of nurses working in hospitals have been bullied and some are bullied several times a week. Koh (2016) cited some examples of direct and indirect, subjective and objective responses including body language, raising one's voice in response to colleagues, offensive comments, reacting to a situation that demoralizes one's character. a colleague and failure to help others, sabotage by withholding relevant information, accusation, spreading rumors, violating the confidentiality of nursing supervisors. An immediate action by a person directly affected by bullying is to avoid provoking the bully by adjusting their behavior and thus feeling permanent stress. The effects of bullying are detrimental to an individual's psychological and physical appearance (Cortina and Magley, 2003). They found that symptoms of psychological distress include anxiety, irritability, panic attacks, depression, lack of self-confidence, low self-esteem and mood changes. While the physical symptoms reported by Gilmour and Hamlin (2003); Graveson (1998); Normandale and Davies (2002); Quine (2001) are sleep disturbances, headaches, high blood pressure, weight loss, gastrointestinal (GI) disturbances, and inhibited sexual desire. Although many nurses do not pursue nursing careers in their early years due to workplace hostility and after experiencing harassment, there is still a group of nurses who wish to continue in their current jobs ( Vessay et al, 2009). They also found that many nurses reported that their "intention to leave" did not materialize for relevant reasons such as workplace location, family responsibilities, income and benefits. social, fear of not being able to get good references are the main concern, especially the elderly. nurses. The Australian Human Rights Commission (AHRC) has developed a policy against harassment in the workplace. The sector provides information and protection to victims when abuse occurs. Currently in the United States of America, workers are protected by law against discrimination based on race, sex, color, age and nationality and the Healthy Workplace Bill (HWB) has been passed throughout the country (Skehan, 2015). In addition to strategies to eradicate horizontal violence in hospitals, she determined that an education program in the establishment with the active participation of senior leaders isbeneficial, because for example, managers deal with abusive reports from staff and disciplinary action will be taken against the abuser. this shows that the organization is committed to creating a safe workplace by not tolerating disruptive behavior. However, succeeding in the nursing profession by practicing self-care behavior helps individuals improve their resilience so they can create a restorative environment during times of burnout. According to Hu et al. (2017) receiving help from family, friends, colleagues, and partner is an essential source of support, as demonstrated in several studies by Fu and Wang (2013); Rodwell and Munro (2013); Yom & Kim, 2012 that could significantly improve self-efficacy in nursing related to the ability to care for oneself. Additionally, a recognized independent support system for nurses is readily available in the Nursing and Midwifery Health Program Victoria (2006) to provide confidential support regarding mental health issues and has been shown to be effective by 89% of clients who have received support to continue working, return and are considering returning to nursing. In conclusion, nurses who remain in the medical industry over time are considered capable of handling stress and have developed resilience in how they adapt to a life event. Factors that can affect the physical and mental well-being of nurses are determined by socio-economic needs, education, healthy work environment, salary and job compensation. However, if any of these factors become unacceptable, it can lead to chronic diseases like hypertension, gastrointestinal diseases, infertility, dysfunction of women's reproductive organs, cancer, and stress-related mental illnesses . In order to prevent these problems, it is recommended to regulate workplace safety policies from government sectors to all hospitals and other organizations covering guidelines for the protection and promotion of employee welfare. The daily scope of nursing responsibilities is vast and has a significant impact on people's lives. It is therefore essential that nurses are mentally healthy and mentally capable to perform effective service in the healthcare sector. Aristotle spoke of “eudomonia” or “well-being,” as a “primary goal of all human actions.” Many have attempted to define “well-being,” but it is “intangible,” “difficult to define,” and “difficult to measure.” Many have tried, for example Herzlich (1973), Seligman (1998), Ryff and Singer (2008), but have often ended up with a description rather than a definition of “well-being”. Dodge et al. (2012), in their article, considers all previous theories on the concept of "well-being" and draws on certain aspects of the studies of Cummins (2010) and Headey and Wearing (1989) relating to homeostasis and the balance of well-being, and the resources and challenges mentioned in the research of Hendry and Kloep (2002), to propose a definition of well-being as being "the point of balance between the pool of resources of a individual and the challenges encountered. “Well-being is when a person realizes their potential, is resilient to the normal stresses of their life, takes care of their physical well-being and has a sense of purpose, connection and belonging to a community wider. It is a fluid way of being that must be nurtured throughout life. » Essentially, stable well-being occurs when individuals have the psychological, social, and physical resources they need to..