A report by journalist Florence Morin-Martel, from Dutywon a special mention from the En-Tête 2023 awards, which reward journalistic work in mental health.
The file “Incomparable exhaustion among social workers”, published on February 27, 2023, revealed the distress that reigns among these guardian angels responsible for watching over the mental health of the population. The journalist exclusively cited the results of a preliminary study led by Mélanie Bourque, of the University of Quebec en Outaouais (UQO).
The professor in the Department of Social Work at UQO concluded that the reform of the health and social services network, by establishing a centralization of decisions, had worsened the morale of social workers. They are under pressure to treat a larger number of patients in a context of reduced professional autonomy. And the pandemic has exacerbated the phenomenon.
In the same category, reporting on mental health at work, journalist Marissa Groguhé, from The Presswon first prize for his report “Artists exhausted, tours canceled”.
Two Radio-Canada journalists were awarded in the Youth Mental Health Reporting category. Alexis Gacon won first prize for her work “Finding your place when you have Tourette syndrome”, while Myriam Fimbry received a special mention for “After dark ideas, musical creation”.
Growing interest
The Headlines Awards are presented by the Canadian Journalists’ Forum on Violence and Trauma, a charitable organization dedicated to the physical and emotional well-being of journalists, their audiences and those who are the subjects of their stories. The winners of the 2023 awards were chosen from 28 entries in both categories.
“The high number of nominations for these awards reflects the growing attention paid by journalists to mental health issues. Our guides on how to cover mental health issues sensitively contribute to the confidence needed to tackle this type of subject, in the public interest,” said Cliff Lonsdale, president of the Forum, in a press release. .
“We also encourage the media to support the mental health of journalists themselves, because no one is safe,” he also said.