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. 2020 Sep-Oct:66:1-8.
doi: 10.1016/j.genhosppsych.2020.06.007. Epub 2020 Jun 16.

Psychological distress, coping behaviors, and preferences for support among New York healthcare workers during the COVID-19 pandemic

Ari Shechter  1 , Franchesca Diaz  1 , Nathalie Moise  1 , D Edmund Anstey  1 , Siqin Ye  1 , Sachin Agarwal  2 , Jeffrey L Birk  1 , Daniel Brodie  1 , Diane E Cannone  1 , Bernard Chang  3 , Jan Claassen  2 , Talea Cornelius  1 , Lilly Derby  1 , Melissa Dong  1 , Raymond C Givens  1 , Beth Hochman  4 , Shunichi Homma  1 , Ian M Kronish  1 , Sung A J Lee  1 , Wilhelmina Manzano  5 , Laurel E S Mayer  6 , Cara L McMurry  1 , Vivek Moitra  7 , Patrick Pham  1 , LeRoy Rabbani  1 , Reynaldo R Rivera  5 , Allan Schwartz  1 , Joseph E Schwartz  8 , Peter A Shapiro  6 , Kaitlin Shaw  1 , Alexandra M Sullivan  1 , Courtney Vose  5 , Lauren Wasson  1 , Donald Edmondson  1 , Marwah Abdalla  9
Affiliations

Psychological distress, coping behaviors, and preferences for support among New York healthcare workers during the COVID-19 pandemic

Ari Shechter et al. Gen Hosp Psychiatry. 2020 Sep-Oct.

Abstract

Objective: The mental health toll of COVID-19 on healthcare workers (HCW) is not yet fully described. We characterized distress, coping, and preferences for support among NYC HCWs during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Methods: This was a cross-sectional web survey of physicians, advanced practice providers, residents/fellows, and nurses, conducted during a peak of inpatient admissions for COVID-19 in NYC (April 9th-April 24th 2020) at a large medical center in NYC (n = 657).

Results: Positive screens for psychological symptoms were common; 57% for acute stress, 48% for depressive, and 33% for anxiety symptoms. For each, a higher percent of nurses/advanced practice providers screened positive vs. attending physicians, though housestaff's rates for acute stress and depression did not differ from either. Sixty-one percent of participants reported increased sense of meaning/purpose since the COVID-19 outbreak. Physical activity/exercise was the most common coping behavior (59%), and access to an individual therapist with online self-guided counseling (33%) garnered the most interest.

Conclusions: NYC HCWs, especially nurses and advanced practice providers, are experiencing COVID-19-related psychological distress. Participants reported using empirically-supported coping behaviors, and endorsed indicators of resilience, but they also reported interest in additional wellness resources. Programs developed to mitigate stress among HCWs during the COVID-19 pandemic should integrate HCW preferences.

Keywords: Anxiety; COVID-19; Coping; Depression; Distress; Healthcare worker; Insomnia.

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Conflict of interest statement

Declaration of competing interest None of the authors have relevant disclosures.

Figures

Fig. 1
Fig. 1
Percent of participants who endorsed distress due to clinical, family, national, and personal concerns.
Fig. 2
Fig. 2
Percentage of participants who screened positive for acute stress, depressive symptoms, and anxiety by clinical role.
Fig. 3
Fig. 3
Coping behaviors endorsed by participants by clinical role.
Fig. 4
Fig. 4
Participant interest in proposed wellness resources by clinical role.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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