ABSTRACT
Sufficient sleep is vital to the health and safety of healthcare workers and patients alike. Despite this, formal sleep promotion programs rarely exist within healthcare. Guidance does exist for how to incorporate strategies within healthcare organizations. Nurse leaders can spearhead efforts by promoting healthy sleep and instituting change through scheduling practices, unit policies, and supporting staff when barriers to healthy sleep develop.
Subject(s)
COVID-19/psychology , Health Personnel/psychology , Nursing Staff, Hospital/psychology , Organizational Innovation , Sleep/physiology , Fatigue/etiology , Humans , Leadership , Organizational CultureABSTRACT
BACKGROUND: The HERO registry was established to support research on the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on US healthcare workers. OBJECTIVE: Describe the COVID-19 pandemic experiences of and effects on individuals participating in the HERO registry. DESIGN: Cross-sectional, self-administered registry enrollment survey conducted from April 10 to July 31, 2020. SETTING: Participants worked in hospitals (74.4%), outpatient clinics (7.4%), and other settings (18.2%) located throughout the nation. PARTICIPANTS: A total of 14,600 healthcare workers. MAIN MEASURES: COVID-19 exposure, viral and antibody testing, diagnosis of COVID-19, job burnout, and physical and emotional distress. KEY RESULTS: Mean age was 42.0 years, 76.4% were female, 78.9% were White, 33.2% were nurses, 18.4% were physicians, and 30.3% worked in settings at high risk for COVID-19 exposure (e.g., ICUs, EDs, COVID-19 units). Overall, 43.7% reported a COVID-19 exposure and 91.3% were exposed at work. Just 3.8% in both high- and low-risk settings experienced COVID-19 illness. In regression analyses controlling for demographics, professional role, and work setting, the risk of COVID-19 illness was higher for Black/African-Americans (aOR 2.32, 99% CI 1.45, 3.70, p < 0.01) and Hispanic/Latinos (aOR 2.19, 99% CI 1.55, 3.08, p < 0.01) compared with Whites. Overall, 41% responded that they were experiencing job burnout. Responding about the day before they completed the survey, 53% of participants reported feeling tired a lot of the day, 51% stress, 41% trouble sleeping, 38% worry, 21% sadness, 19% physical pain, and 15% anger. On average, healthcare workers reported experiencing 2.4 of these 7 distress feelings a lot of the day. CONCLUSIONS: Healthcare workers are at high risk for COVID-19 exposure, but rates of COVID-19 illness were low. The greater risk of COVID-19 infection among race/ethnicity minorities reported in the general population is also seen in healthcare workers. The HERO registry will continue to monitor changes in healthcare worker well-being during the pandemic. TRIAL REGISTRATION: ClinicalTrials.gov identifier NCT04342806.