Exploring the Well-being of Health Care Workers During the COVID-19 Pandemic: Protocol for a Prospective Longitudinal Study
BackgroundHealth care workers (HCWs) have experienced several stressors associated with the COVID-19 pandemic. Structural stressors, including extended work hours, redeployment, and changes in organizational mandates, often intersect with interpersonal and personal stressors,...
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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JMIR Publications
2021-09-01
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| Series: | JMIR Research Protocols |
| Online Access: | https://www.researchprotocols.org/2021/9/e32663 |
| _version_ | 1797735660433440768 |
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| author | Jenny J W Liu Anthony Nazarov Rachel A Plouffe Callista A Forchuk Erisa Deda Dominic Gargala Tri Le Jesse Bourret-Gheysen Vanessa Soares Maede S Nouri Fardous Hosseiny Patrick Smith Maya Roth Arlene G MacDougall Michelle Marlborough Rakesh Jetly Alexandra Heber Joy Albuquerque Ruth Lanius Ken Balderson Gabrielle Dupuis Viraj Mehta J Don Richardson |
| author_facet | Jenny J W Liu Anthony Nazarov Rachel A Plouffe Callista A Forchuk Erisa Deda Dominic Gargala Tri Le Jesse Bourret-Gheysen Vanessa Soares Maede S Nouri Fardous Hosseiny Patrick Smith Maya Roth Arlene G MacDougall Michelle Marlborough Rakesh Jetly Alexandra Heber Joy Albuquerque Ruth Lanius Ken Balderson Gabrielle Dupuis Viraj Mehta J Don Richardson |
| author_sort | Jenny J W Liu |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description |
BackgroundHealth care workers (HCWs) have experienced several stressors associated with the COVID-19 pandemic. Structural stressors, including extended work hours, redeployment, and changes in organizational mandates, often intersect with interpersonal and personal stressors, such as caring for those with COVID-19 infections; worrying about infection of self, family, and loved ones; working despite shortages of personal protective equipment; and encountering various difficult moral-ethical dilemmas.
ObjectiveThe paper describes the protocol for a longitudinal study seeking to capture the unique experiences, challenges, and changes faced by HCWs during the COVID-19 pandemic. The study seeks to explore the impact of COVID-19 on the mental well-being of HCWs with a particular focus on moral distress, perceptions of and satisfaction with delivery of care, and how changes in work structure are tolerated among HCWs providing clinical services.
MethodsA prospective longitudinal design is employed to assess HCWs’ experiences across domains of mental health (depression, anxiety, posttraumatic stress, and well-being), moral distress and moral reasoning, work-related changes and telehealth, organizational responses to COVID-19 concerns, and experiences with COVID-19 infections to self and to others. We recruited HCWs from across Canada through convenience snowball sampling to participate in either a short-form or long-form web-based survey at baseline. Respondents to the baseline survey are invited to complete a follow-up survey every 3 months, for a total of 18 months.
ResultsA total of 1926 participants completed baseline surveys between June 26 and December 31, 2020, and 1859 participants provided their emails to contact them to participate in follow-up surveys. As of July 2021, data collection is ongoing, with participants nearing the 6- or 9-month follow-up periods depending on their initial time of self-enrollment.
ConclusionsThis protocol describes a study that will provide unique insights into the immediate and longitudinal impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on the dimensions of mental health, moral distress, health care delivery, and workplace environment of HCWs. The feasibility and acceptability of implementing a short-form and long-form survey on participant engagement and data retention will also be discussed.
International Registered Report Identifier (IRRID)DERR1-10.2196/32663 |
| first_indexed | 2024-03-12T13:02:14Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-41fc30748dcf4142a7e241b3d6147f50 |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 1929-0748 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-03-12T13:02:14Z |
| publishDate | 2021-09-01 |
| publisher | JMIR Publications |
| record_format | Article |
| series | JMIR Research Protocols |
| spelling | doaj.art-41fc30748dcf4142a7e241b3d6147f502023-08-28T19:08:50ZengJMIR PublicationsJMIR Research Protocols1929-07482021-09-01109e3266310.2196/32663Exploring the Well-being of Health Care Workers During the COVID-19 Pandemic: Protocol for a Prospective Longitudinal StudyJenny J W Liuhttps://orcid.org/0000-0003-2213-1346Anthony Nazarovhttps://orcid.org/0000-0002-3288-7609Rachel A Plouffehttps://orcid.org/0000-0003-0393-9008Callista A Forchukhttps://orcid.org/0000-0001-9085-0620Erisa Dedahttps://orcid.org/0000-0001-8887-1094Dominic Gargalahttps://orcid.org/0000-0002-0531-8240Tri Lehttps://orcid.org/0000-0001-6059-3870Jesse Bourret-Gheysenhttps://orcid.org/0000-0003-4348-2380Vanessa Soareshttps://orcid.org/0000-0001-9129-0506Maede S Nourihttps://orcid.org/0000-0003-0351-1511Fardous Hosseinyhttps://orcid.org/0000-0002-4448-2457Patrick Smithhttps://orcid.org/0000-0003-1746-9932Maya Rothhttps://orcid.org/0000-0002-3668-6361Arlene G MacDougallhttps://orcid.org/0000-0002-3253-3966Michelle Marlboroughhttps://orcid.org/0000-0001-6800-3927Rakesh Jetlyhttps://orcid.org/0000-0001-6610-9365Alexandra Heberhttps://orcid.org/0000-0003-4434-4553Joy Albuquerquehttps://orcid.org/0000-0003-2950-0714Ruth Laniushttps://orcid.org/0000-0002-3758-1393Ken Baldersonhttps://orcid.org/0000-0003-2221-1610Gabrielle Dupuishttps://orcid.org/0000-0002-5413-4536Viraj Mehtahttps://orcid.org/0000-0003-2442-8813J Don Richardsonhttps://orcid.org/0000-0002-2927-6735 BackgroundHealth care workers (HCWs) have experienced several stressors associated with the COVID-19 pandemic. Structural stressors, including extended work hours, redeployment, and changes in organizational mandates, often intersect with interpersonal and personal stressors, such as caring for those with COVID-19 infections; worrying about infection of self, family, and loved ones; working despite shortages of personal protective equipment; and encountering various difficult moral-ethical dilemmas. ObjectiveThe paper describes the protocol for a longitudinal study seeking to capture the unique experiences, challenges, and changes faced by HCWs during the COVID-19 pandemic. The study seeks to explore the impact of COVID-19 on the mental well-being of HCWs with a particular focus on moral distress, perceptions of and satisfaction with delivery of care, and how changes in work structure are tolerated among HCWs providing clinical services. MethodsA prospective longitudinal design is employed to assess HCWs’ experiences across domains of mental health (depression, anxiety, posttraumatic stress, and well-being), moral distress and moral reasoning, work-related changes and telehealth, organizational responses to COVID-19 concerns, and experiences with COVID-19 infections to self and to others. We recruited HCWs from across Canada through convenience snowball sampling to participate in either a short-form or long-form web-based survey at baseline. Respondents to the baseline survey are invited to complete a follow-up survey every 3 months, for a total of 18 months. ResultsA total of 1926 participants completed baseline surveys between June 26 and December 31, 2020, and 1859 participants provided their emails to contact them to participate in follow-up surveys. As of July 2021, data collection is ongoing, with participants nearing the 6- or 9-month follow-up periods depending on their initial time of self-enrollment. ConclusionsThis protocol describes a study that will provide unique insights into the immediate and longitudinal impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on the dimensions of mental health, moral distress, health care delivery, and workplace environment of HCWs. The feasibility and acceptability of implementing a short-form and long-form survey on participant engagement and data retention will also be discussed. International Registered Report Identifier (IRRID)DERR1-10.2196/32663https://www.researchprotocols.org/2021/9/e32663 |
| spellingShingle | Jenny J W Liu Anthony Nazarov Rachel A Plouffe Callista A Forchuk Erisa Deda Dominic Gargala Tri Le Jesse Bourret-Gheysen Vanessa Soares Maede S Nouri Fardous Hosseiny Patrick Smith Maya Roth Arlene G MacDougall Michelle Marlborough Rakesh Jetly Alexandra Heber Joy Albuquerque Ruth Lanius Ken Balderson Gabrielle Dupuis Viraj Mehta J Don Richardson Exploring the Well-being of Health Care Workers During the COVID-19 Pandemic: Protocol for a Prospective Longitudinal Study JMIR Research Protocols |
| title | Exploring the Well-being of Health Care Workers During the COVID-19 Pandemic: Protocol for a Prospective Longitudinal Study |
| title_full | Exploring the Well-being of Health Care Workers During the COVID-19 Pandemic: Protocol for a Prospective Longitudinal Study |
| title_fullStr | Exploring the Well-being of Health Care Workers During the COVID-19 Pandemic: Protocol for a Prospective Longitudinal Study |
| title_full_unstemmed | Exploring the Well-being of Health Care Workers During the COVID-19 Pandemic: Protocol for a Prospective Longitudinal Study |
| title_short | Exploring the Well-being of Health Care Workers During the COVID-19 Pandemic: Protocol for a Prospective Longitudinal Study |
| title_sort | exploring the well being of health care workers during the covid 19 pandemic protocol for a prospective longitudinal study |
| url | https://www.researchprotocols.org/2021/9/e32663 |
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