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. 2023 Jul 12;9(4):e124.
doi: 10.1192/bjo.2023.520.

Investigating the impact of financial concerns on symptoms of depression in UK healthcare workers: data from the UK-REACH nationwide cohort study

Martin McBride  1 , Christopher A Martin  2 , Lucy Teece  3 , Patricia Irizar  4 , Megan Batson  5 , Susie Lagrata  6 , Padmasayee Papineni  7 , Joshua Nazareth  2 , Daniel Pan  8 , Alison Leary  9 , Katherine Woolf  10 , Manish Pareek  2 ; UK-REACH Study Collaborative Group
Affiliations

Investigating the impact of financial concerns on symptoms of depression in UK healthcare workers: data from the UK-REACH nationwide cohort study

Martin McBride et al. BJPsych Open. .

Abstract

Background: Exploration of the association between financial concerns and depression in UK healthcare workers (HCWs) is paramount given the current 'cost of living crisis', ongoing strike action and recruitment/retention problems in the National Health Service.

Aims: To assess the impact of financial concerns on the risk of depression in HCWs, how these concerns have changed over time and what factors might predict financial concerns.

Method: We used longitudinal survey data from a UK-wide cohort of HCWs to determine whether financial concerns at baseline (December 2020 to March 2021) were associated with depression (measured with the Public Health Questionnaire-2) at follow-up (June to October 2022). We used logistic regression to examine the association between financial concerns and depression, and ordinal logistic regression to establish predictors of developing financial concerns.

Results: A total of 3521 HCWs were included. Those concerned about their financial situation at baseline had higher odds of developing depressive symptoms at follow-up. Financial concerns increased in 43.8% of HCWs and decreased in 9%. Those in nursing, midwifery and other nursing roles had over twice the odds of developing financial concerns compared with those in medical roles.

Conclusions: Financial concerns are increasing in prevalence and predict the later development of depressive symptoms in UK HCWs. Those in nursing, midwifery and other allied nursing roles may have been disproportionately affected. Our results are concerning given the potential effects on sickness absence and staff retention. Policy makers should act to alleviate financial concerns to reduce the impact this may have on a discontent workforce plagued by understaffing.

Keywords: Depressive disorders; aetiology; epidemiology; health economics; psychiatric nursing.

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Conflict of interest statement

M.P. reports grants from Sanofi, grants and personal fees from Gilead Sciences and personal fees from QIAGEN, outside the submitted work. K.W. is funded by the National Institute for Health and Care Research (Development and Skills Enhancement Award, NIHR302865) outside of this work, and has received funding from the NHS Race and Health Observatory outside of this work.

Figures

Fig. 1
Fig. 1
Multivariable logistic regression demonstrating the relationship between financial concerns at baseline and meeting depression screening criteria at follow-up, after adjustment for demographics, occupation and baseline depression screening outcome. PHQ-2, Patient Health Questionnaire-2; Ref, reference group for categorical variable. *Included in the 'Allied health professionals' group are healthcare scientists, pharmacists, ambulance workers and those in optical roles. Fig. 1 details the result of a mutivariable logistic regression analysis. Results are displayed as adjusted odds ratios (circles) and 95% confidence intervals (bars). Circles without bars are shown for the reference group of a categorical variable. Odds ratios are mutually adjusted for all variables in the figure.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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