Trends in Moral Injury, Distress, and Resilience Factors among Healthcare Workers at the Beginning of the Covid-19 Pandemic

Datos Bibliográficos

ID15487514
AutoresStella E Hines (0000-0002-8350-9448, University of Maryland, Baltimore, autor de correspondencia), Katherine H Chin (0000-0003-2010-1880, University of Maryland, Baltimore), D R Glick (0000-0003-3808-7570, University of Maryland, Baltimore), Emerson M Wickwire (0000-0002-2858-7742, University of Maryland, Baltimore)
Año2021
Volumen18
Número2
Páginas488-488
Fecha de publicación2021-01-09
Peer ReviewedSí
Open AccessSí
TipoARTICLE
RevistaInternational Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health (JOURNAL)
Identificadores de la revistaISSN: 1661-7827 • E-ISSN: 1660-4601
EditorialMultidisciplinary Digital Publishing Institute (PUBLISHER • CH)
DOI10.3390/ijerph18020488
PMID33435300
OpenAlexW3119423623
IdiomaEN
Citas recibidas38
Referencias citadas49

The coronavirus severe acute respiratory syndrome (COVID-19) pandemic has placed increased stress on healthcare workers (HCWs). While anxiety and post-traumatic stress have been evaluated in HCWs during previous pandemics, moral injury, a construct historically evaluated in military populations, has not. We hypothesized that the experience of moral injury and psychiatric distress among HCWs would increase over time during the pandemic and vary with resiliency factors. From a convenience sample, we performed an email-based, longitudinal survey of HCWs at a tertiary care hospital between March and July 2020. Surveys measured occupational and resilience factors and psychiatric distress and moral injury, assessed by the Impact of Events Scale-Revised and the Moral Injury Events Scale, respectively. Responses were assessed at baseline, 1-month, and 3-month time points. Moral injury remained stable over three months, while distress declined. A supportive workplace environment was related to lower moral injury whereas a stressful, less supportive environment was associated with increased moral injury. Distress was not affected by any baseline occupational or resiliency factors, though poor sleep at baseline predicted more distress. Overall, our data suggest that attention to improving workplace support and lowering workplace stress may protect HCWs from adverse emotional outcomes

Anxiety · Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19 · Disease · Distress · Health care · Moral injury · Occupational safety and health · Pandemic · Psychiatry · Psychological resilience · Clinical Psychology · COVID-19 and Mental Health · Healthcare professionals’ stress and burnout · Medicine · Posttraumatic Stress Disorder Research · Psychology · Social Psychology · Internal Medicine