Skip to main page content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Dot gov

The .gov means it’s official.
Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.

Https

The site is secure.
The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

Access keys NCBI Homepage MyNCBI Homepage Main Content Main Navigation
. 2022 Sep 22:19:E61.
doi: 10.5888/pcd19.220132.

Prevalence of Chronic Diseases, Depression, and Stress Among US Childcare Professionals During the COVID-19 Pandemic

Jad A Elharake  1   2 , Mehr Shafiq  3   4 , Ayse Cobanoglu  5 , Amyn A Malik  1   3 , Madeline Klotz  6 , John Eric Humphries  7 , Thomas Murray  8 , Kavin M Patel  1 , David Wilkinson  9 , Inci Yildirim  3   8   10 , Rachel Diaz  9 , Rosalia Rojas  5 , Anael Kuperwajs Cohen  5 , Aiden Lee  7 , Saad B Omer  1   3   10   11 , Walter S Gilliam  5
Affiliations

Prevalence of Chronic Diseases, Depression, and Stress Among US Childcare Professionals During the COVID-19 Pandemic

Jad A Elharake et al. Prev Chronic Dis. .

Abstract

Introduction: Given their central role in supporting children's development, childcare professionals' overall physical and mental health is important. We evaluated the prevalence of chronic diseases, depression, and stress levels during the COVID-19 pandemic among US childcare professionals.

Methods: Data were obtained from US childcare professionals (N = 81,682) through an online survey from May 22, 2020, through June 8, 2020. We used multivariable logistic and linear regression models to assess the association of sociodemographic characteristics with 4 physical health conditions (asthma, heart disease, diabetes, and obesity), depression, and stress weighted to national representativeness.

Results: For physical health conditions, 14.3% (n = 11,717) reported moderate to severe asthma, 6.5% (n = 5,317) diabetes, 4.9% (n = 3,971) heart disease, and 19.8% (n = 16,207) obesity. For mental health, 45.7% (n = 37,376) screened positive for depression and 66.5% (n = 54,381) reported moderate to high stress levels. Race, ethnicity, and sex/gender disparities were found for physical health conditions but not mental health of childcare professionals during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Conclusion: Our findings highlighted that childcare professionals' depression rates during the pandemic were higher than before the pandemic, and depression, stress, and asthma rates were higher than rates among US adults overall during the pandemic. Given the essential work childcare professionals provided during the pandemic, policy makers and public health officials should consider what can be done to support their physical and mental health.

PubMed Disclaimer

References

    1. US Bureau of Labor Statistics. Childcare workers. 2020. Accessed January 15, 2022. https://www.bls.gov/ooh/personal-care-and-service/childcare-workers.htm
    1. Whitebook M, McLean C, Austin LJE, Edwards B. The Early Childhood Workforce Index — 2018. Berkeley (CA): Center for the Study of Child Care Employment, University of California, Berkeley; 2018. Accessed January 15, 2022. https://cscce.berkeley.edu/wp-content/uploads/2022/04/Early-Childhood-Wo...
    1. Chang DI. Connecting the dots: improving child care workers’ conditions leads to better health, economic stability, and greater equity. Health Affairs Forefront. Published October 20, 2020. Accessed January 15, 2022. https://www.healthaffairs.org/do/10.1377/forefront.20201019.28108/full - DOI
    1. Deloitte, Datawheel. Data USA: childcare workers. 2021. Accessed May 15, 2022. https://datausa.io/profile/soc/childcare-workers#about
    1. Kwon K-A, Horm DM, Amirault C. Early childhood teachers’ well-being: what we know and why we should care. Zero to Three Journal 2021;41(3):35–44.

Publication types