TY - JOUR
T1 - A prospective cohort study of the psychological consequences of the COVID-19 pandemic on frontline healthcare workers in New York City
AU - Peccoralo, Lauren A.
AU - Pietrzak, Robert H.
AU - Feingold, Jordyn H.
AU - Syed, Shumayl
AU - Chan, Chi C.
AU - Murrough, James W.
AU - Kaplan, Carly
AU - Verity, Jaclyn
AU - Feder, Adriana
AU - Charney, Dennis S.
AU - Southwick, Steven M.
AU - Ripp, Jonathan A.
N1 - Funding Information:
This study was supported by internal funding devoted to COVID-19-related projects from the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai.
Publisher Copyright:
© 2022, The Author(s), under exclusive licence to Springer-Verlag GmbH Germany, part of Springer Nature.
PY - 2022/8
Y1 - 2022/8
N2 - Objectives: We sought to describe the course and correlates of psychological distress in frontline healthcare workers (FHCWs) during the COVID-19 pandemic in New York City (NYC). Methods: A prospective cohort study of FHCWs at the Mount Sinai Hospital was conducted during the initial 2020 surge (T1) and 7 months later (T2). Psychological distress [i.e., positive screen for pandemic-related post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), major depressive disorder (MDD), and/or generalized anxiety disorder (GAD)], occupational and personal exposures to COVID-19, coping strategies, and psychosocial characteristics were assessed. Four courses of psychological distress response were identified: no/minimal, remitted, persistent, and new-onset. Multinomial logistic regression and relative importance analyses were conducted to identify factors associated with courses of distress. Results: Of 786 FHCWs, 126 (16.0%) FHCWs had persistent distress; 150 (19.1%) remitted distress; 35 (4.5%) new-onset distress; and 475 (60.4%) no/minimal distress. Relative to FHCWs with no/minimal distress, those with persistent distress reported greater relationship worries [19.8% relative variance explained (RVE)], pre-pandemic burnout (18.7% RVE), lower dispositional optimism (9.8% RVE), less emotional support (8.6% RVE), and feeling less valued by hospital leadership (8.4% RVE). Relative to FHCWs with remitted symptoms, those with persistent distress reported less emotional support (29.7% RVE), fewer years in practice (28.3% RVE), and psychiatric history (23.6% RVE). Conclusions: One-fifth of FHCWs in our study experienced psychological distress 7 months following the COVID-19 surge in NYC. Pandemic-related worries, pre-pandemic burnout, emotional support, and feeling valued by leaders were linked to persistent distress. Implications for prevention, treatment, and organizational efforts to mitigate distress in FHCWs are discussed.
AB - Objectives: We sought to describe the course and correlates of psychological distress in frontline healthcare workers (FHCWs) during the COVID-19 pandemic in New York City (NYC). Methods: A prospective cohort study of FHCWs at the Mount Sinai Hospital was conducted during the initial 2020 surge (T1) and 7 months later (T2). Psychological distress [i.e., positive screen for pandemic-related post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), major depressive disorder (MDD), and/or generalized anxiety disorder (GAD)], occupational and personal exposures to COVID-19, coping strategies, and psychosocial characteristics were assessed. Four courses of psychological distress response were identified: no/minimal, remitted, persistent, and new-onset. Multinomial logistic regression and relative importance analyses were conducted to identify factors associated with courses of distress. Results: Of 786 FHCWs, 126 (16.0%) FHCWs had persistent distress; 150 (19.1%) remitted distress; 35 (4.5%) new-onset distress; and 475 (60.4%) no/minimal distress. Relative to FHCWs with no/minimal distress, those with persistent distress reported greater relationship worries [19.8% relative variance explained (RVE)], pre-pandemic burnout (18.7% RVE), lower dispositional optimism (9.8% RVE), less emotional support (8.6% RVE), and feeling less valued by hospital leadership (8.4% RVE). Relative to FHCWs with remitted symptoms, those with persistent distress reported less emotional support (29.7% RVE), fewer years in practice (28.3% RVE), and psychiatric history (23.6% RVE). Conclusions: One-fifth of FHCWs in our study experienced psychological distress 7 months following the COVID-19 surge in NYC. Pandemic-related worries, pre-pandemic burnout, emotional support, and feeling valued by leaders were linked to persistent distress. Implications for prevention, treatment, and organizational efforts to mitigate distress in FHCWs are discussed.
KW - Burnout
KW - COVID-19 pandemic
KW - Healthcare workers
KW - Mental Health
KW - Psychological distress
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=85123490611&partnerID=8YFLogxK
U2 - 10.1007/s00420-022-01832-0
DO - 10.1007/s00420-022-01832-0
M3 - Article
AN - SCOPUS:85123490611
SN - 0340-0131
VL - 95
SP - 1279
EP - 1291
JO - International Archives of Occupational and Environmental Health
JF - International Archives of Occupational and Environmental Health
IS - 6
ER -