Effects of Sleep, Exercise, and Leadership Support on Resilience in Frontline Healthcare Workers During the COVID-19 Pandemic.

OBJECTIVE: To evaluate the direct and interacting effects of personal and systemic factors that contribute to psychological distress among frontline healthcare workers (FHCWs) during the COVID-19 pandemic. METHODS: Data were collected using a hospital-wide, cross-sectional survey. A multivariable binary logistic regression and relative importance analysis was conducted to identify factors associated with screening positive for C19-distress. RESULTS: A total of 1005 (39.0%, 95%CI - 37.1-40.9%) out of 2579 FHCWs met the prespecified cutoff values for significant symptoms of C19-distress. Fewer sleep hours and lower perceptions of leadership support explained the majority of variance (19.4% relative variance explained [RVE]) in C19-distress, followed by team camaraderie (6.4% RVE), physical exercise (4.9% RVE), and engagement in hobbies (3.2% RVE). CONCLUSION: These results underscore the importance of restorative behaviors as potential targets to help decrease distress and promote resilience in FHCWs.

Psychological Consequences Among Residents and Fellows During the COVID-19 Pandemic in New York City: Implications for Targeted Interventions.

PURPOSE: To examine the psychological impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on medical trainees (residents and fellows) working at Mount Sinai Hospital (MSH) in New York City (NYC), the initial epicenter of the United States pandemic. METHOD: The authors administered a survey to 991 trainees in frontline specialties working at MSH in NYC between April and May 2020. The instrument assessed symptoms of major depressive disorder, generalized anxiety disorder, COVID-19-related posttraumatic stress disorder, and burnout. Psychiatric screens were aggregated into 1 composite measure, and meeting criteria on any of the 3 scales was considered a positive screen for psychiatric symptoms. The survey also assessed COVID-19-related exposures, worries, coping strategies, and desired interventions. Multivariable logistic regressions were conducted to identify factors associated with psychiatric symptoms and burnout. RESULTS: Of the 560 respondents (56.6% response rate), 29.7% screened positive for psychiatric symptoms and 35.8% screened positive for burnout. History of a mental illness, COVID-19-related duties and personal/career worries, and coping by substance use were associated with increased likelihood of screening positive for psychiatric symptoms. Positive emotion-focused coping and feeling valued by supervisors were associated with decreased likelihood. Internal medicine and surgical specialties, a history of mental illness, increased duty hours, duty-related worries, personal/career worries, coping via self-blame and venting, and coping via substance use were associated with higher odds of burnout. Feeling valued by supervisors was associated with decreased burnout odds. The most common crisis-related needs included access to personal protective equipment, food provisions, and financial support. CONCLUSIONS: Psychological distress and burnout affected approximately one-third of trainees sampled during the height of the pandemic in NYC. As the pandemic surged beyond NYC, these findings suggest that interventions should include addressing basic needs, promoting leadership affirmation, moderating duty hours, supporting trainees financially, and enhancing mental health support.

Moral distress in frontline healthcare workers in the initial epicenter of the COVID-19 pandemic in the United States: Relationship to PTSD symptoms, burnout, and psychosocial functioning.

INTRODUCTION: Little is known about the relationship between moral distress and mental health problems. We examined moral distress in 2579 frontline healthcare workers (FHCWs) caring for coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) patients during the height of the spring 2020 pandemic surge in New York City. The goals of the study were to identify common dimensions of COVID-19 moral distress; and to examine the relationship between moral distress, and positive screen for COVID-19-related posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) symptoms, burnout, and work and interpersonal functional difficulties. METHOD: Data were collected in spring 2020, through an anonymous survey delivered to a purposively-selected sample of 6026 FHCWs at Mount Sinai Hospital; 2579 endorsed treating COVID-19 patients and provided complete survey responses. Physicians, house staff, nurses, physician assistants, social workers, chaplains, and clinical dietitians comprised the sample. RESULTS: The majority of the sample (52.7%-87.8%) endorsed moral distress. Factor analyses revealed three dimensions of COVID-19 moral distress: negative impact on family, fear of infecting others, and work-related concerns. All three factors were significantly associated with severity and positive screen for COVID-19-related PTSD symptoms, burnout, and work and interpersonal difficulties. Relative importance analyses revealed that concerns about work competencies and personal relationships were most strongly related to all outcomes. CONCLUSION: Moral distress is prevalent in FHCWs and includes family-, infection-, and work-related concerns. Prevention and treatment efforts to address moral distress during the acute phase of potentially morally injurious events may help mitigate risk for PTSD, burnout, and functional difficulties.

Transdiagnostic Psychiatric Symptoms, Burnout, and Functioning in Frontline Health Care Workers Responding to the COVID-19 Pandemic: A Symptomics Analysis.

OBJECTIVE: The coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic has led to an increased risk of psychiatric symptoms among frontline health care workers (FHCWs). In the current study, a novel "symptomics" approach was employed to examine the association between acute transdiagnostic symptoms of posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD), major depressive disorder (MDD), and generalized anxiety disorder (GAD) and burnout and work and relationship difficulties in FHCWs at an urban tertiary care hospital in New York City. METHODS: Symptoms of COVID-19-related PTSD (4-item PTSD Checklist-5), MDD (Patient Health Questionnaire-8), GAD (Generalized Anxiety Disorder-7), burnout (Single-Item Mini-Z Burnout Assessment), and functional difficulties (Brief Inventory of Psychosocial Functioning) were assessed. Relative importance analyses were conducted to identify PTSD, MDD, and GAD symptoms associated with burnout and functional difficulties. RESULTS: The total number of eligible participants included 6,026 presumed FHCWs, of which 3,360 (55.8%) completed the survey and 2,579 (76.8%) of whom endorsed directly treating patients with COVID-19 and provided sufficient responses to our outcome variables for analysis. Feeling tired/having little energy, being easily annoyed or irritable, and feeling nervous, anxious, or on edge were most strongly associated with burnout; feeling tired/having little energy accounted for the greatest amount of explained variance (> 15%). Negative expectations of oneself or the world, trouble concentrating, and feeling easily annoyed or irritable were most strongly associated with work difficulties; negative expectations of oneself or the world accounted for the greatest amount of explained variance (> 9%). Feeling easily annoyed or irritable, negative expectations about oneself or the world, and feeling bad about oneself were most strongly associated with relationship difficulties; feeling easily annoyed or irritable accounted for the greatest amount of explained variance (> 10%). CONCLUSIONS: Results of this study underscore the importance of a transdiagnostic, symptom-based approach when examining associations between acute psychopathology and burnout and functional difficulties in FHCWs. Further work is needed to determine if early interventions aimed at ameliorating specific psychiatric symptoms may help mitigate risk for peri- and posttraumatic burnout and functional difficulties in this population.

Empowered transitions: Understanding the experience of transitioning from pediatric to adult care among adolescents with inflammatory bowel disease and their parents using photovoice.

OBJECTIVE: To identify barriers and facilitators of pediatric to adult transitions among adolescents with IBD and their parents. METHODS: This cross-sectional study used photovoice to explore adolescent and parent perspectives on transitions in IBD care. Adolescents with IBD aged 14-23 and their parents were recruited from an urban IBD center during clinic visits. Participants completed a survey, took photos, participated in a semi-structured interview, and optionally participated in a focus group. Interviews were recorded and transcribed. Two analysts coded interview data for themes using MAXQDA software. RESULTS: Thirteen adolescents and eleven parents submitted photos and participated in an interview. The mean patient age was 19.0 ± 3.0. The mean parent age was 51.5 ± 5.4. Eleven (84.6%) adolescents were Caucasian; 12 (92.3%) privately insured; 4 (30.8%) in high school, 5 (38.4%) in college, and 4 (30.8%) in the workforce. Adolescent transition-readiness, resilience, and IBD-related self-efficacy scores were relatively high, with high agreement between patient self-report and parent-reported children's resilience; parents over-estimated their children's IBD-related self-efficacy. Participants discussed barriers to transitions including psychological distress, disease uncertainty, gut-brain axis-related issues, a lack of understanding by people unaffected by IBD, and frequent life disruptions. Facilitators of transitions included having a disease narrative, deliberately shifting responsibility for disease management tasks, positivity/optimism, social support, engagement with the IBD community, and mental health support. CONCLUSION: Attention to psychosocial issues is warranted during the transition process from pediatric to adult IBD care, specifically related to understanding the gut-brain axis and accessing resources to optimize mental health and well-being among transition-aged adolescents and their caregivers.

Psychological Impact of the COVID-19 Pandemic on Frontline Health Care Workers During the Pandemic Surge in New York City.

BACKGROUND: This study sought to assess the magnitude of and factors associated with mental health outcomes among frontline health care workers (FHCWs) providing care during the Spring 2020 COVID-19 pandemic surge in New York City. METHODS: A cross-sectional, survey-based study over 4 weeks during the Spring 2020 pandemic surge was used to assess symptoms of COVID-19-related posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD), major depressive disorder (MDD), and generalized anxiety disorder (GAD) in 2,579 FHCWs at the Mount Sinai Hospital. Participants were additionally asked about their occupational and personal exposures to COVID-19. Multivariable logistic regression and relative importance analyses were conducted to identify factors associated with these outcomes. RESULTS: A total of 3,360 of 6,026 individuals completed the survey (55.8% participation), with 2,579 (76.8%) analyzed based on endorsing frontline responsibilities and providing information related to the three outcomes. 1,005 (39.0%) met criteria for symptoms of COVID-19-related PTSD, MDD, or GAD. 599 (23.3%) screened positively for PTSD symptoms, 683 (26.6%) for MDD symptoms, and 642 (25.0%) for GAD symptoms. Multivariable analyses revealed that past-year burnout was associated with the highest risk of developing symptoms for COVID-19-related PTSD (odds ratio [OR] = 2.10), MDD (OR = 2.83), and GAD (OR = 2.68). Higher perceived support from hospital leadership was associated with a lowest risk of all outcomes [PTSD (OR = 0.75), MDD (OR = 0.72), and GAD (OR = 0.76). CONCLUSION: In this large sample of FHCWs providing care during the 2020 NYC pandemic surge, 39% experienced symptoms of COVID-19-related PTSD, MDD, and/or GAD and pre-pandemic burnout as well as leadership support were identified as the most highly associated factors. These findings suggest that interventions aimed at reducing burnout and augmenting support from hospital leadership may be appropriate targets to mitigate the risk for developing further psychopathology in this population and others working in the midst of crisis.

Narratives of resilience in medical students following the 3/11 triple disaster: Using thematic analysis to examine paths to recovery.

In March of 2011, a 9.0 magnitude earthquake, tsunami, and nuclear explosion damaged northeastern Japan. While nine years have passed, the memory of this disaster continues to linger. This qualitative study had three main goals. First it aimed to explore the reactions and interpretations of adolescents living in areas affected by the disaster. Second, it sought to examine the behaviors and beliefs that enabled these students to not only recover but thrive. Third, it strived to build a more global and dynamic framework of resilience. A convenience sample of 18 students participated in semi-structured face-to-face interviews. Their narratives were qualitatively analyzed using thematic content analysis. Overall, four themes, each with four codes or sub-themes, emerged as sources of resilience including social support (social networks, role models, and community service), hopeful future orientation (cognitive reappraisal, optimism, and motivation to be physician), active emotions (rational compassion, luck, and suppression) and sense of purpose or duty (sharing of personal story, motivation to educate others, and Fukushima image). These findings reveal the experiences of highly resilient youth facing trauma and the connection between childhood adversity and career choices. They also begin to uncover the unique ways that culture, society, and tradition impact processes of recovery.

The Impact of Health Consciousness on the Association Between Walking Durations and Mental Health Conditions After a Disaster: a Cross-Sectional Study.

BACKGROUND: In communities affected by a disaster, walking can be a feasible form of physical exercise to improve physical and mental health conditions. However, there is limited evidence to support relationships between walking habits and mental health conditions in post-disaster settings. Cross-sectional epidemiological data obtained from a questionnaire survey (conducted in October 2017) of a community affected by the 2011 Great East Japan Earthquake (GEJE) was analyzed to evaluate the relationships. METHODS: Participants included individuals over 20 years of age (N = 718) from Shichigahama town in Miyagi prefecture, whose houses were significantly damaged by the GEJE. Their mental health conditions were assessed by the Kessler Psychological Distress Scale (K6), the Center for Epidemiologic Studies Depression Scale (CES-D), and the Impact of Event Scale-Revised (IES-R). Additionally, the questionnaire asked the participants spent duration walking on average and their walking purpose by the following items: (1) longer than 60 min per day, (2) between 30 and 60 min per day, or (3) less than 30 min per day, and whether they walked to maintain healthy living habits (health-conscious walkers) or merely for transportation without considering health consequences (non-health-conscious walkers). These information and mental health indicators were analyzed using analysis of covariance (ANCOVA). RESULTS: Among the three walking duration groups of health-conscious walkers, there were significant differences in CES-D and K6 scores (p = 0.01 and p = 0.04), but not in IES-R scores, considering age, gender, and alcohol drinking habits as covariates. CES-D score was significantly higher among short walkers (p = 0.004). Among the three walking duration groups of non-health-conscious walkers, there were significant differences in avoidance symptoms, the subdomain of IES-R (p = 0.01), but not in CES-D, K6, and total IES-R scores, considering the variants. CONCLUSION: Our study suggests that walking durations may positively affect mood, but not PTSR, only when walking is performed with the purpose of maintaining healthy living habits. Walking durations were negatively associated with avoidance symptoms among non-health-conscious walkers in the community affected by the GEJE, indicating that the disaster may have had a long-lasting impact on walking habits.

Post-Traumatic Growth and Resilience Among Medical Students After the March 2011 Disaster in Fukushima, Japan.

In March of 2011, an earthquake, tsunami, and nuclear accident struck northern Japan causing profound damage to the surrounding area and lasting effects to all those who lived there. Fukushima Medical University (FMU), the closest hospital that remained open during the disaster, was greatly impacted and its students rallied to help the cause. Many of them were directly affected as their neighborhoods were ruined and family and friends were injured or killed. Our study sought to better understand how this disaster impacted their posttraumatic growth and resilience in the wake of the disaster and today, 8 years later. There were three goals of this study. First, we aimed to replicate previous research that showed positive effects of disaster volunteerism on medical students' posttraumatic growth. Second, we sought to better understand the role of resilience in the wellbeing of these students. Finally, we wanted to explore the advantages to our newly created 10-Factor Resilience Behavioral Scale, which we used alongside the Davidson Trauma Scale (DTS), Posttraumatic Growth Inventory (PTGI-X), and Connor-Davidson Resilience Scale (CD-RISC). Overall, 579 responses were collected (response rate of 71.9%). Volunteers continued to show greater PTG as well as greater overall resilience. Furthermore, there were positive correlations between students' feelings of confusion, anger, sadness, guilt or anxiety and their sense of resilience, both at the time of the disaster and in the most recent month, suggesting that within Japanese culture difficult emotions may promote resilient behaviors and actions.

The Effects of Altitude on Concussion Incidence in the 2013-2017 National Hockey League Seasons.

Background and objective The high incidence of traumatic brain injuries during contact sports has necessitated the need for further research pertaining to their implications and possible mitigation. Despite increasing attention to sports-related concussions, there is still a striking lack of detail pertaining to the environmental factors that contribute to their occurrence. One environmental condition that has yet to be considered is altitude. Altitude cannot be readily adjusted, yet can still impact quality of play and concussion incidence. The current body of published evidence evaluating environmental effects on concussion is divided on the degree to which altitude mitigates concussion incidence. We aim to systematically compare the prevalence of concussions that occur at high and low altitude utilizing 1000 feet (304.8 meters) as a cut-off marker for high altitude. Our research also takes a novel approach utilizing average games missed as a proxy for concussion severity. We hope to use this analysis to shed light on the implication of altitude on concussion incidence. Methods Individual player data on concussion incidence were retrospectively acquired for the 2013-2017 National Hockey League (NHL) seasons utilizing FOX Sports Injury tracker. NHL season schedules were acquired through the online source "Hockey Reference." In order to establish cutoff criteria for high vs low altitude we adopted 1000 feet (304.8 meters) as high-low altitude cutoff. We also evaluated our data utilizing a previously published high-low altitude cutoff of 644 feet (196.3 meters). Specific altitudes of each NHL arena were derived from "elevationmap.net". One caveat to our data collection was the striking lack of publicly available data pertaining to the concussions sustained by each NHL team. Data was analyzed utilizing SAS programing. Results Out of the 5281 games included in our data set, we documented a total of 133 concussions which occurred in 125 games through the 2013-2017 NHL seasons. We noted an increase in concussion reporting in the most recent 2016-2017 NHL season compared to the previous 2013-2016 seasons. Effect of altitude variance on concussion rate was evaluated utilizing 644 and 1000 ft as the low-high altitude split. We defined each variance by where the team is based at compared to where the game was played. This produced four distinct categories: 1) low-low altitude, 2) low-high altitude, 3) high-low altitude, and 4) high-high altitude. We noted a significant difference in concussion rate when teams based at high altitude above 1000 ft travel to play at low altitude; this trend was non-significant at 644 ft. The results of the average games missed analysis demonstrated that teams that play above 1000 feet had fewer games missed per concussion compared to teams that are based at a low altitude. Conclusions Though underreported in the total number of concussions in the 2013-2017 NHL seasons, our data suggests that teams who are based at a high altitude (>1000ft) experience a reduction in mean concussion rate when traveling to play at a lower altitude. Our data also indicated a reduction in average games missed post-concussion for teams based at a higher altitude. It is our goal that our findings here contribute to the larger discussion about concussion incidence and can be applied to other sports leagues and activities to mitigate their dangerous effects.

Does the Environment Influence the Frequency of Concussion Incidence in Professional Football?

Background Sports-related concussion is a major cause of mild traumatic brain injury (mTBI). It is possible that environmental factors, such as temperature, humidity, and stadium's altitude, may influence the overall incidence of concussions during a game. Purpose To examine the impact of environmental factors, such as temperature, humidity, barometric pressure, and dew point, on concussion incidence. Methods Public Broadcasting Service (PBS) FRONTLINE Concussion Watch was used to collect injury data on 32 NFL teams during regular season games from 2012 to 2015. Weather data points were collected from Weather Underground. Concussion incidence per game, the probability of a concussion during a game, and a difference in mean game-day temperature, humidity, dew point, and barometric pressure between concussion and concussion-free games were calculated. Our analysis included t-tests, analysis of variance (ANOVA), multivariate correlation tests, and logistic and Poisson regression.  Results Overall, 564 concussions were reported. There were 411 games with concussions and 549 games without concussions. We observed a significant decrease in concussion incidence with increasing temperature, both when the temperature was divided into 20oF increments or into quartiles (p = 0.005 and p = 0.002, respectively). We identified a statistically significant lower mean-game day temperature in concussion games compared to concussion-free games (p < 0.0006). We also observed a significant decrease in the incidence of concussion per game with increasing dew point. There was no significant difference in concussion incidence in barometric pressure and humidity. The logistic regression model predicted a decrease in the probability of a concussion in games with higher temperatures and dew points. Conclusions National Football League (NFL) players experienced an increased risk of concussion during football games played in colder temperatures and at lower dew points. Further research on environmental effects on concussions may aid in improving player safety in football leagues.

Effects of Game Characteristics and Player Positions on Concussion Incidence and Severity in Professional Football.

BACKGROUND: Increasing efforts have been made to reduce the incidence and severity of concussion in high-contact sports. Despite these efforts, a relative lack of knowledge is available regarding modulating factors affecting concussion injury. PURPOSE: To analyze the potential influence of game characteristics and outcomes on concussion incidence and severity in professional football. STUDY DESIGN: Descriptive epidemiology study. METHODS: PBS Frontline Concussion Watch was used to collect concussion injury data from regular-season games of 32 National Football League (NFL) teams from 2012 to 2015. Game characteristic variables such as rushing and passing attempts, turnovers, and margin of victory were collected from ESPN. Analysis included descriptive statistics, analysis of variance, t tests, and correlation tests. RESULTS: Away teams demonstrated a significantly greater concussion incidence per game than home teams. Losing teams had a significantly greater concussion incidence per game than winning teams. Being both the away team and the losing team appeared to have an additive effect. The home-versus-away and win-versus-loss effects were significant for offensive but not defensive positions. Within individual positions, significantly greater concussion incidence was associated with tight ends, running backs, wide receivers, and cornerbacks. When running versus passing positions were compared, passing positions (wide receiver, tight end, cornerback, safety) had significantly greater concussion incidence. A total of 626 games were missed as a result of reported concussions. Away teams had significantly more games missed due to concussion when they lost. Play time did not significantly differ before or after concussion injury. Other game characteristic variables did not significantly affect concussion frequency or intensity. CONCLUSION: Position, game location, and game outcome affect concussion incidence for professional football players. In a subset of analyses, the number of games missed aligned with concussion incidence, but this appeared to be an imperfect measure. These findings highlight new factors that may modulate concussion incidence and merit further study on how they may influence concussion evaluation.

Reduction in symptoms for homebound patients receiving home-based primary and palliative care.

BACKGROUND: Increasing numbers of patients are living with multiple, chronic medical conditions and functional impairments that leave them homebound. Home-based primary and palliative care (HBPC) programs provide access to health care services for this vulnerable population. Homebound patients have high symptom burden upon program enrollment. Yet little is known as to how individual symptoms are managed at home, especially over longer time periods. OBJECTIVES: The purpose of this study was to determine whether high symptom burden decreases following HBPC enrollment. METHODS: All patients newly enrolled in an HBPC program who reported at least one symptom on the Edmonton Symptom Assessment Scale (ESAS) were eligible for telephone ESAS follow-up. Patients received a comprehensive initial home visit and assessment by a physician with subsequent follow-up care, interdisciplinary care management including social work, and urgent in-home care as necessary. Multivariate linear mixed models with repeated measures were used to assess the impact of HBPC on pain, depression, anxiety, tiredness, and loss of appetite among patients with moderate to severe symptom levels at baseline. RESULTS: One hundred forty patients were followed. Patient pain, anxiety, depression, and tiredness significantly decreased following intervention with symptom reductions seen at 3 weeks and maintained at 12 weeks. (p<0.01) Loss of appetite trended toward an overall significant decrease and showed significant reductions at 12 week follow-up. CONCLUSION: In a chronically ill population of urban homebound, patient symptoms can be successfully managed in the home. Future work should continue to explore symptom assessment and management over time for the chronically ill homebound.