Stress, Resilience, and Coping of Healthcare Workers during the COVID-19 Pandemic

Abstract

Objective: To estimate the health care workers (HCWs) self-reported stress, resilience, and coping during the COVID-19 pandemic, and to determine inter-professional differences. Participants and Methods: An email survey was sent to 474 HCW at a Midwestern HealthCare facility between April 9, 2020 and April 30, 2020. A total of 311 (65.6%) responses were received by May 31, 2020. The survey utilized 3 validated instruments: Perceived Stress Scale (PSS), Brief Resilience Scale (BRS), Brief Resilience Coping Scale (BRCS). Results: Of the 311 responses, 302 were evaluated: 97 from nonmedical staff with patient contact (NMPC); 86 from nonmedical staff with no patient contact (NMNPC); 62 from medical doctors (MD), physician assistants (PA) and nurse practitioners (NP); and 57 from nurses. Significant differences were noted across job categories for stress and resilience, with nurses reporting highest PSS scores (effect estimates: −2.72, P =.009 for NMNPC; −2.50, P =.015 for NMPC; −3.21, P =.006 for MD/NP/PA respectively), and MD/NP/PA group with highest BRS scores: nurses (−0.31, P =.02); NMPC (−0.3333, P =.01); and NMNPC (−0.2828, P =.02). Younger personnel had higher stress (−1.59 per decade of age, P