How resilient is your team? Exploring healthcare providers’ well-being during the COVID-19 pandemic

Abstract

Background The global COVID-19 pandemic has placed tremendous physical and mental strain on the US healthcare system. Studies examining the effects of outbreaks have demonstrated both an increased prevalence and long-term development of Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) symptoms in healthcare providers. We sought to assess the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on the psychological well-being of medical providers, medical trainees, and administrators at a large academic center to identify stressors and moderators to guide future mental health and hospital-system interventions. Methods A 42-item survey examining specific stressors, grit, and resilience was widely distributed to physicians, residents, fellows, and administrators a large academic institution for departmental distribution. Survey results were analyzed using descriptive statistics, ANOVA, and multivariate linear regressions. A p-value <0.05 was considered statistically significant. Results A total of 785 participants completed the survey. The majority of respondents rated their stress to be significantly increased during the pandemic. Respondents' fear of transmitting the virus to their family members was a significant stressor. Higher resilience was associated with lower stress, anxiety, fatigue, and sleep disturbances. Overall, respondents felt supported by their departments and institution and felt contingency plans and personal protective equipment were adequate. Conclusions Healthcare workers have increased resilience in the face of heightened stress during a pandemic. Higher resilience and grit were protective factors in managing personal and system-level stressors at the peak of the COVID-19 pandemic in our institution. Implementing an intervention designed to enhance healthcare workers’ resilience in response to the COVID-19 pandemic is warranted.

Factors Associated With Psychological Distress in Health-Care Workers During an Infectious Disease Outbreak: A Rapid Systematic Review of the Evidence

“…Eight studies examined the role of dispositional resilience. Among nurses working during the MERS outbreak, higher levels of hardiness were associated with lower stress and better mental health ( 108 ), and resilience was associated with lower anxiety, depression, post-traumatic stress symptoms, and burnout among frontline nurses and HCW during COVID-19 ( 38 , 45 , 72 , 74 , 89 , 91 , 153 ).…”

“…Similarly, medical staff receiving inadequate training related to managing H7N9 had higher PTSD symptoms than those who received appropriate training ( 81 ). During COVID-19, HCW who felt HCW who felt that they did not have adequate information, training, personal protective equipment (PPE), felt unsafe, and perceived lower logistic support, reported higher levels of depression, anxiety, and acute stress symptoms ( 51 , 54 , 60 , 65 , 72 , 74 , 99 , 100 , 102 , 106 , 120 , 142 ).…”

Passion and Persistence: Investigating the Relationship Between Adverse Childhood Experiences and Grit in College Students in China

“…To the authors' knowledge, grit has not yet been investigated in the context of ACEs, though the two have been demarcated as distinctive constructs. Similarly, although researchers are currently examining grit in college students (Bono et al, 2020 ) and healthcare professionals (Huffman et al, 2020 ) during the COVID-19 pandemic, grit among students residing in China during this time is understudied. The novel 2019 coronavirus disease spread rapidly throughout China and the rest of the world, posing a major threat to global public health (Ali et al, 2020 ).…”

Harnessing the Neurobiology of Resilience to Protect the Mental Well-Being of Healthcare Workers During the COVID-19 Pandemic

“…In addition, sleep deprivation leads to reduced hippocampal neurogenesis and plasticity, potentially impairing resilience to stress ( Saletin et al, 2016 ). In healthcare workers already dealing with long hours or frequent changes in shifts due to the COVID-19 pandemic, these two effects may form a self-reinforcing process, in which sleep deprivation lowers resilience, leading to an increased impact of stress on sleep ( Huffmann et al, 2020 ; Salari et al, 2020 ). Administrative policies to miminize frequent changes in sleep patterns or prolonged shift work, as well as individual or group behavioral interventions to improve sleep hygiene and sleep-related practices, may prove helpful in minimizing the impact of sleep disruptions on resilience in this population ( Elder et al, 2020 ; Muller et al, 2020 ; Rajkumar, 2020 ).…”