High percentages of infection preventionists (IPs) reported that COVID-19-related stressors worsened their mental and physical health, highlighting the need to address systemic issues leading to burnout and improve recruitment and retention, according to results of the test reported yesterday in American Journal of Infection Control.
In the first study of its kind, researchers from The Ohio State University and the Association for Professionals in Infection Control and Epidemiology (APIC) emailed a survey to a random sample of 6,000 APIC members on topics related to wellness mental and physical health, lifestyle behaviors, and perceived well-being support in the workplace during COVID-19.
Participants also answered questions on three questionnaires: Patient Health Questionnaire-2, Generalized Anxiety Disorder-2, and Professional Quality of Life.
The majority of respondents (93.5%) were female, ages 35-64 (77.1%), white (86.8%), married or in a relationship (82.5%), bachelor’s (41 .2%) or master’s degree (42.3%), worked 9-10 hour shifts (58.2%), worked in hospitals (68.1%), did not currently smoke (92.1%), and drank lightly ( 69.3%).
Amid the pandemic, IPs have had to adapt to rapidly evolving infection prevention recommendations, shortages of personal protective equipment, rising hospital-acquired infections and heavier workloads, the authors noted.
Only 17% report high quality of life
Of the 6,000 invited, 926 (15%) completed the survey. About two-thirds indicated that they were in good physical (68.9%) and mental (66.0%) health. But respondents reported low rates of sleeping at least 7 hours a night (34.1%), being physically active for at least 150 minutes a week (18.8%), and eating five or more servings of fruits and vegetables a day (7.3%). ), along with high rates of depression (21.5%), anxiety (29.8%) and burnout (65%).
Only 16.9% of respondents said they had a high quality of life (QOL), while 74.0% said the pandemic had worsened their mental health and 60% reported worse physical health. A total of 37.4% reported higher alcohol consumption during the pandemic, along with worse sleep (77%), less physical activity (64.5%) and lower consumption of fruits and vegetables (61.1%).
Practicing and frontline PIs and managers and directors were the most negatively affected by the pandemic in terms of physical health, while those in other roles were more likely to report meeting physical activity recommendations (odds ratio [OR], 2.68). Higher percentages of practicing and front-line PIs (74.1%) and managers and directors (76.3%) also reported poorer mental health than those in other roles (61.4%).
Those with higher perceived organizational well-being support were more likely to sleep at least 7 hours a night, meet recommended physical activity goals, and not smoke. Relative to IPs who said they had little or no organizational support, those whose employers supported wellness “very or moderately” were 67% more likely to sleep 7 hours a night, 35% less likely to sleep worse, and 43% less likely to report decreased physical activity.
IPs with some workplace support were more likely to have good mental health (OR, 1.81) and no depression (OR, 1.51), anxiety (OR, 1.86), or burnout (OR, 1 .77) than those with little or no support. IPs whose employers were very or moderately supportive of well-being had significantly higher odds on all indicators of good health than those with little or no support, with an odds ratio of 1.94 for physical health to 9.00 for quality. high professional life.
IPs who worked 9 to 11 hours or more per day were more likely to be sleep deprived and to report impaired physical and mental health than those who worked 8 hours or less. Larger percentages of nonwhite IPs were less likely to report declining physical health (OR, 0.59) and more likely to say they had good mental health (OR, 1.58), no depression or anxiety, low stress levels and high quality of professional life.
PI Hiring, Retention Key for Quality Care
With a 25% vacancy rate for PIs and 40% expected to retire in the next decade, recruiting and retaining highly-skilled PIs is a top priority for maintaining the quality and safety of healthcare, the researchers said. .
“Noting that poor physician wellness increases turnover, APIC should continue to support the importance of investing in workplace wellness cultures that promote wellness through ’empowerment, risk-taking, engagement, resilience, transparency and respect,'” they wrote. .
The authors said healthcare organizations must take steps now to better protect IPs’ health and safety, including addressing systemic issues such as understaffing and long shifts that lead to burnout and poor health, and institute or improve mental health programs and screenings.
“Infection prevention specialists have been instrumental in enabling health care facilities to provide safe care during the COVID-19 pandemic,” APIC President Linda Dickey, RN, MPH, said in a statement from APIC, who did not was the author of the study. Press release. “The fact that so many are showing symptoms of burnout is concerning and should prompt employers to adopt wellness programs to retain these highly-skilled professionals.”
