Department of Health

Health and wellbeing for nurses and midwives

Key messages

  • The Royal Women’s Hospital worked with ABC Commercial to develop and tailor a health and well-being program for 2,500 nursing and midwifery staff members across metropolitan and regional Victoria who undertake shift work.
  • The program was piloted for six weeks across four Health Services and one Region, including The Royal Women’s Hospital, Melbourne Health, Peter MacCallum Cancer Centre and Ballarat Health Services.
  • The objective of the Happy People at Work pilot program was to improve the health and well-being of nurses and midwives. The pilot program aimed to optimise the ability of nurses and midwives to be part of a resilient, flexible and engaged workforce. The pilot program focused on developing strategies to promote health and well-being, including management of sleep, mood and stress levels, both at work and at home.

The Happy People pilot program was a health and wellbeing initiative for Victorian nurses and midwives that aligned with the 2017-18 Department of Health and Human Services strategic plan and focused on promoting safety, health and wellbeing in workplaces and building a positive workplace culture.

The Happy People program linked with Victoria’s 10-year Mental Health Plan commitment to build and support the best possible workforce.

The objective of the pilot program was to improve the health and wellbeing of nurses and midwives and aimed to optimise their ability to be part of a resilient, flexible and engaged workforce. The pilot program focused on developing strategies to promote health and wellbeing, including management of sleep, mood and stress levels, both at work and at home.

The Royal Women’s Hospital (RWH) worked with ABC Commercial to develop and tailor a program for 2,500 nursing and midwifery staff members across metropolitan and regional Victoria who undertake shift work. The program was piloted for six weeks across four Health Services and one Region, including The Royal Women’s Hospital, Melbourne Health, Peter MacCallum Cancer Centre and Ballarat Health Services.

The pilot program began on 25 July 2017 and was evaluated by Macquarie University in late 2017.

The Happy People pilot program Summary Evaluation Report (de-identified) demonstrates statistically significant improvements in physical activity, reducing stress, improved quality of sleep and reduced physical exhaustion for participating nurses and midwives.

Reviewed 14 November 2015

Health.vic

Contact details

Nursing and Midwifery Workforce

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