More than half of public health workers showed signs of at least one mental health condition during the pandemic--CDC study

Symptoms of Depression, Anxiety, Post-Traumatic Stress ... Among 26,174 surveyed state, tribal, local, and territorial public health workers, 53% reported symptoms of at least one mental health condition in the past 2 weeks. Symptoms were more prevalent ... CDCMMWR Centers for Disease Control and Prevention

Among 26,174 surveyed state, tribal, local, and territorial public health workers, 53.0% reported symptoms of at least one mental health condition in the past 2 weeks. Symptoms were more prevalent among those who were unable to take time off or worked ≥41 hours per week.

What are the implications for public health practice?

Implementing prevention and control practices that eliminate, reduce, and manage factors that cause or contribute to public health workers’ poor mental health might improve mental health outcomes during emergencies.

Increases in mental health conditions have been documented among the general population and health care workers since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic (1–3). Public health workers might be at similar risk for negative mental health consequences because of the prolonged demand for responding to the pandemic and for implementing an unprecedented vaccination campaign.

The extent of mental health conditions among public health workers during the COVID-19 pandemic, however, is uncertain. A 2014 survey estimated that there were nearly 250,000 state and local public health workers in the United States (4). To evaluate mental health conditions among these workers, a nonprobability–based online survey was conducted during March 29–April 16, 2021, to assess symptoms of depression, anxiety, post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), and suicidal ideation among public health workers in state, tribal, local, and territorial public health departments.

Among 26,174 respondents, 53.0% reported symptoms of at least one mental health condition in the preceding 2 weeks, including depression (32.0%), anxiety (30.3%), PTSD (36.8%), or suicidal ideation (8.4%). The highest prevalence of symptoms of a mental health condition was among respondents aged ≤29 years (range = 13.6%–47.4%) and transgender or nonbinary persons (i.e., those who identified as neither male nor female) of all ages (range = 30.4%–65.5%).

Public health workers who reported being unable to take time off from work were more likely to report adverse mental health symptoms. Severity of symptoms increased with increasing weekly work hours and percentage of work time dedicated to COVID-19 response activities. ...

Increases in adverse mental health symptoms among workers have been linked to increased absenteeism, high turnover, lower productivity, and lower morale, which could influence the effectiveness of public health organizations during emergencies (8,9).

Among public health worker respondents, nearly 20% reported that their employer did not allow them to take time off; the inability to take time off had the largest impact on reporting symptoms of mental health. Approximately one quarter of public health workers did not know whether their workplace offered an employee assistance program. Even where available, employee assistance programs were not commonly accessed.

Several strategies could reduce adverse mental health symptoms among public health workers during public health emergencies. For example, expanding staffing size (e.g., recruiting surge personnel to backfill positions) and implementing flexible schedules might reduce the need for long work hours; encouraging workers to take regular breaks and time off could help avoid overwork and reduce the risk for adverse mental health outcomes. In addition, implementing, evaluating, and promoting use of employee assistance programs could improve employee resiliency and coping.  ...