(PS5-D91) Health Care Worker Mental Health and Coping During the COVID-19 Pandemic: Qualitative and Quantitative Perspectives

The COVID-19 pandemic has impacted health care workers (HCWs; Poon et al., 2022) and health care systems (Haldane et al., 2021). HCWs are one population susceptible to psychological and physical impacts from working during the COVID-19 pandemic, given that these individuals are at heightened risk for COVID-19 exposure (Koh, 2020) and work in stressful, rapidly evolving environments (Pfefferbaum & North, 2020). Understanding cultural, systemic, and individual factors exacerbating psychological and physical duress for HCWs is imperative for designing intervention and prevention efforts in health care systems to reduce burnout and enhance psychological well-being. Culturally, the emphasis placed on an ‘endurance’ culture may limit engagement in self-care practices or other coping strategies (Epstein & Privitera, 2016). Non-HCWs may have also developed fear and avoidance of HCWs to prevent infection (Taylor et al., 2020), which could further increase HCW isolation. At the individual level, lack of adaptive coping could have potentially led to an exacerbation of mental health and/or functional difficulties through behavioral avoidance (Chan et al., 2022). To better understand cultural, systemic, and individual factors contributing to well-being in HCWs, we conducted a quality improvement project involving both qualitative (N = 224) and quantitative (N = 288) assessments of burnout, coping, and contextual factors in HCWs in a large health care system in the southeastern region of the United States. Approximately two-thirds of HCWs reported elevated burnout on a single-item burnout measure, and mental and physical health difficulties experienced by HCWs were evident through responses provided in one-to-one interviews. Three overarching themes were identified in the qualitative interviews. (1) Despite experiencing mental health problems and physical difficulties, many individuals described engagement in self-care practices. (2) Overall, HCWs felt supported by their individual units, but not by healthcare leadership. (3) HCWs reported that strengthening communication, protecting time off, and being shown appreciation may promote and protect morale. These results can inform evidence-based intervention and policy change efforts in health care systems, particularly cognitive-behavioral prevention and intervention strategies focusing on modification of systems and individual behaviors to enhance psychological well-being and help HCWs overcome burnout. Ongoing intervention efforts (with a focus on technology-driven interventions) will be discussed.