COVID-19 Traumatic Disaster Appraisal and Stress Symptoms Among Health Care Workers: Insights From the Yale Stress Self-assessment.

OBJECTIVE: To determine to what extent did health care workers experience the pandemic as a severe stress event. METHODS: This cross-sectional evaluation of 8299 health care workers, representing a 22% response rate, utilized machine learning to predict high levels of escalating stress based on demographics and known predictors for adverse psychological outcomes after trauma. RESULTS: A third of health care workers experienced the pandemic as a potentially traumatic stress event; a greater proportion of health care workers experienced high levels of escalating stress. Predictive factors included sense of control, ability to manage work-life demands, guilt or shame, age, and level of education. Gender was no longer predictive after controlling for other factors. Escalating stress was especially high among nonclinical academics and clinical private practitioners. CONCLUSION: Findings suggest adverse effects on total worker health, care quality, professionalism, retention, and acute and chronic mental health.

Mobilizing an institutional supportive response for healthcare workers and other staff in the context of COVID-19: The Yale experience.

The burden of the COVID-19 pandemic upon healthcare workers necessitates a systematic effort to support their resilience. This article describes the Yale University and Yale New Haven Health System effort to unite several independent initiatives into a coherent integrated model for institutional support for healthcare workers. Here, we highlight both opportunities and challenges faced in attempting to support healthcare workers during this pandemic.