This study explores healthcare workers’ lived experiences in Canada’s long-term care, revealing challenges like heavy workload due to chronic staff shortages, psychological and moral distress, regulatory/bureaucratic burdens etc. Collaborative focus groups identified solutions, including workforce planning, mental health initiatives, self-care promotion, aimed at improving well-being and resilience among healthcare workers.
Farzana Akter, MPH, McMaster University
Farzana Akter is a Research Assistant at the School of Nursing, Faculty of Health Sciences at McMaster University, where she works with Dr. Sheila Boamah on the CIHR-funded “Healing the Healers” project. She holds a Master of Public Health (MPH) from McMaster University, completed in 2024.
Farzana previously worked as a Research Officer at Veterans Affairs Canada (VAC), where she contributed to the Veterans’ Well-being Community Health Needs Assessment (CHNA) project. Before her MPH, she worked as a National Consultant for Planning, Monitoring, and Reporting at the World Health Organization (WHO) in Bangladesh. Over four years, she played a key role in supporting health policy development, strategy formulation, and performance measurement of health-related Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) indicators in Bangladesh.
At this conference, she will share outcomes from the “Healing the Healers” project, highlighting workforce challenges in long-term care and proposing innovative strategies and systemic solutions to strengthen healthcare workers’ well-being and resilience.
Dr. Sheila Boamah, McMaster University
Dr. Sheila Boamah is an Assistant Professor in the School of Nursing at McMaster University, with research foci in health systems, health human resources, and improving outcomes for underserved populations. Her research leads in co-creating solutions with affected communities and implementing transformative strategies that address underlying causes of health disparities, ensuring equitable access to care across Canada and beyond. Guided by a commitment to transdisciplinary collaboration, Dr. Boamah strives to bridge divides across traditionally siloed teams and sectors, focusing on improving care for patients and families and fostering a cohesive, collaborative healthcare ecosystem.
Co-Author
Saipriya Vajravelu, PhD , Reg PT (ON), School of Nursing, McMaster University, Hamilton, ON, Canada