TY - JOUR
T1 - Psychological Burden of Systemic Racism-Related Distress in New York City Healthcare Workers During the COVID-19 Pandemic
AU - Tong, Michelle
AU - Hurtado, Alicia
AU - Deshpande, Richa
AU - Pietrzak, Robert H.
AU - He, Celestine
AU - Kaplan, Carly
AU - Kaplan, Sabrina
AU - Akhtar, Saadia
AU - Feder, Adriana
AU - Feingold, Jordyn H.
AU - Ripp, Jonathan A.
AU - Peccoralo, Lauren A.
N1 - Publisher Copyright:
© The Author(s), under exclusive licence to Society of General Internal Medicine 2023.
PY - 2024/2
Y1 - 2024/2
N2 - Background: Little is known about the relationship among systemic racism, psychological symptoms (depression, anxiety, and/or post-traumatic stress disorders), and burnout in healthcare workers (HCWs). Objective: To determine whether distress related to awareness of systemic racism contributes to psychological symptoms and/or burnout in HCWs. We explored whether this form of racism-related distress may moderate the relationship between race, ethnicity, psychological symptoms, and burnout. Design: A cross-sectional survey was conducted from November 19, 2020, through January 11, 2021. Statistical analysis was conducted from May 3, 2022, to June 15, 2022. Participants: Frontline HCWs at an urban tertiary care hospital in New York City. Main Measures: Distress related to awareness of systemic racism (SR) and racial disparities in COVID-19 outcomes (RD), psychological symptoms, and burnout. Key Results: Two thousand one of 4654 HCWs completed the survey (response rate 43.0%). Most HCWs reported experiencing distress related to awareness of systemic racism (1329 [66.4%]) and to racial disparities in COVID-19 outcomes (1137 [56.8%]). Non-Hispanic Black participants (SR odds ratio (OR) 2.84, p <.001; RD OR 2.34, p <.001), women (SR OR 1.35, p =.01; RD OR 1.67, p <.001), and those with history of mental illness (SR OR 2.13, p <.001; RD OR 1.66, p <.001) were more likely to report SR- and RD-related distress, respectively. HCWs who experienced “quite-a-bit to extreme” SR-related distress were more likely to screen positive for psychological symptoms (OR 5.90, p <.001) and burnout (OR 2.26, p <.001). Conclusions: Our findings suggest that distress related to awareness of systemic racism, not race/ethnicity, was associated with experiencing psychological symptoms and burnout in HCWs. As the medical community continues to critically examine the role of systemic racism in healthcare, our work is a first step in characterizing its toll on the psychological well-being of HCWs.
AB - Background: Little is known about the relationship among systemic racism, psychological symptoms (depression, anxiety, and/or post-traumatic stress disorders), and burnout in healthcare workers (HCWs). Objective: To determine whether distress related to awareness of systemic racism contributes to psychological symptoms and/or burnout in HCWs. We explored whether this form of racism-related distress may moderate the relationship between race, ethnicity, psychological symptoms, and burnout. Design: A cross-sectional survey was conducted from November 19, 2020, through January 11, 2021. Statistical analysis was conducted from May 3, 2022, to June 15, 2022. Participants: Frontline HCWs at an urban tertiary care hospital in New York City. Main Measures: Distress related to awareness of systemic racism (SR) and racial disparities in COVID-19 outcomes (RD), psychological symptoms, and burnout. Key Results: Two thousand one of 4654 HCWs completed the survey (response rate 43.0%). Most HCWs reported experiencing distress related to awareness of systemic racism (1329 [66.4%]) and to racial disparities in COVID-19 outcomes (1137 [56.8%]). Non-Hispanic Black participants (SR odds ratio (OR) 2.84, p <.001; RD OR 2.34, p <.001), women (SR OR 1.35, p =.01; RD OR 1.67, p <.001), and those with history of mental illness (SR OR 2.13, p <.001; RD OR 1.66, p <.001) were more likely to report SR- and RD-related distress, respectively. HCWs who experienced “quite-a-bit to extreme” SR-related distress were more likely to screen positive for psychological symptoms (OR 5.90, p <.001) and burnout (OR 2.26, p <.001). Conclusions: Our findings suggest that distress related to awareness of systemic racism, not race/ethnicity, was associated with experiencing psychological symptoms and burnout in HCWs. As the medical community continues to critically examine the role of systemic racism in healthcare, our work is a first step in characterizing its toll on the psychological well-being of HCWs.
KW - burnout
KW - healthcare workers
KW - psychological symptoms
KW - systemic racism
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=85174286925&partnerID=8YFLogxK
U2 - 10.1007/s11606-023-08422-x
DO - 10.1007/s11606-023-08422-x
M3 - Article
C2 - 37845586
AN - SCOPUS:85174286925
SN - 0884-8734
VL - 39
SP - 450
EP - 459
JO - Journal of General Internal Medicine
JF - Journal of General Internal Medicine
IS - 3
ER -