Healthcare worker trauma and related mental health outcomes during the COVID-19 outbreak in New York City.

Healthcare workers (HCWs) faced a range of stressors during the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic, contributing to psychological stress. We use a psychological trauma framework to characterize the mental health burden for clinical and non-clinical healthcare worker occupations during the COVID-19 pandemic. The objective was to measure and characterize risk factors for trauma and anxiety-related mental health problems among HCWs at a public hospital in the epicenter of the COVID-19 pandemic in New York City (NYC). This study reports findings from a cross-sectional survey of NYC HCWs shortly after the initial 2020 infection surge. Over 800 hospital employees completed the survey that assessed professional quality of life indicators (compassion satisfaction [CS], burnout [BO], secondary traumatic stress [STS]), Coronavirus Anxiety (CS), Obsession with Coronavirus (OC), and PTSD symptoms. The survey also assessed pandemic-related work and life circumstances such as "do you have a family member or friend who tested positive for COVID". Relatively small percentages of HCWs endorsed probable Coronavirus Anxiety (6%), PTSD (13%), and Coronavirus Obsession (21%). We observed higher proportions of Burnout (29%), Moderate or High Secondary Traumatic Stress (45%), and High Compassion Satisfaction (52%). Adjusted regression models showed important implications for prior behavioral/emotional health concerns among HCWs, providing care for a patient that died from COVID-19, and other characteristics. This study supports prior studies documenting the mental health consequences for the healthcare workforce during the COVID-19 pandemic. This study builds on that base by including non-clinical staff in the sample and assessing pandemic life-stressors such as caring for sick family members.

Food insecurity among active duty soldiers and their families during the coronavirus disease 2019 pandemic.

OBJECTIVE: We examined the determinants of food insecurity among active duty Army households that transitioned into food insecurity during the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic. DESIGN: We compared Army households that recently transitioned into marginal food insecurity with those households that remained highly food secure (n 2832) to better understand how these households differ in their resilience to food insecurity during economic downturns using data from a military installation in the USA in 2020. SETTING: A US military installation in the USA. PARTICIPANTS: Active duty US Army soldiers. RESULTS: Prior to the pandemic, the prevalence of marginal food insecurity among Army households was similar to that reported for households in the general population. Marginal food insecurity among Army households increased over 1·5-fold - from 19 % to 33 % - with the onset of the pandemic. Relative to Army households with consistently high food security, the Army households that transitioned into marginal food insecurity after the onset of the pandemic were more likely to report concerns about financial insecurity and the job security of their family members. CONCLUSIONS: Army households, like their civilian counterparts, are vulnerable to food insecurity because of instability in their income during periods of economic uncertainty. Periods of economic uncertainty are more common for Army households because of the frequent relocations associated with military service which could lead to predictable periodic spikes in their food insecurity.