@Article{info:doi/10.2196/32663,
author="Liu, Jenny J W
and Nazarov, Anthony
and Plouffe, Rachel A
and Forchuk, Callista A
and Deda, Erisa
and Gargala, Dominic
and Le, Tri
and Bourret-Gheysen, Jesse
and Soares, Vanessa
and Nouri, Maede S
and Hosseiny, Fardous
and Smith, Patrick
and Roth, Maya
and MacDougall, Arlene G
and Marlborough, Michelle
and Jetly, Rakesh
and Heber, Alexandra
and Albuquerque, Joy
and Lanius, Ruth
and Balderson, Ken
and Dupuis, Gabrielle
and Mehta, Viraj
and Richardson, J Don",
title="Exploring the Well-being of Health Care Workers During the COVID-19 Pandemic: Protocol for a Prospective Longitudinal Study",
journal="JMIR Res Protoc",
year="2021",
month="Sep",
day="27",
volume="10",
number="9",
pages="e32663",
keywords="COVID-19; health care worker; pandemic; mental health; wellbeing; survey; design; longitudinal; prospective; protocol; challenge; impact; distress; perception",
abstract="Background: Health care workers (HCWs) have experienced several stressors associated with the COVID-19 pandemic. Structural stressors, including extended work hours, redeployment, and changes in organizational mandates, often intersect with interpersonal and personal stressors, such as caring for those with COVID-19 infections; worrying about infection of self, family, and loved ones; working despite shortages of personal protective equipment; and encountering various difficult moral-ethical dilemmas. Objective: The paper describes the protocol for a longitudinal study seeking to capture the unique experiences, challenges, and changes faced by HCWs during the COVID-19 pandemic. The study seeks to explore the impact of COVID-19 on the mental well-being of HCWs with a particular focus on moral distress, perceptions of and satisfaction with delivery of care, and how changes in work structure are tolerated among HCWs providing clinical services. Methods: A prospective longitudinal design is employed to assess HCWs' experiences across domains of mental health (depression, anxiety, posttraumatic stress, and well-being), moral distress and moral reasoning, work-related changes and telehealth, organizational responses to COVID-19 concerns, and experiences with COVID-19 infections to self and to others. We recruited HCWs from across Canada through convenience snowball sampling to participate in either a short-form or long-form web-based survey at baseline. Respondents to the baseline survey are invited to complete a follow-up survey every 3 months, for a total of 18 months. Results: A total of 1926 participants completed baseline surveys between June 26 and December 31, 2020, and 1859 participants provided their emails to contact them to participate in follow-up surveys. As of July 2021, data collection is ongoing, with participants nearing the 6- or 9-month follow-up periods depending on their initial time of self-enrollment. Conclusions: This protocol describes a study that will provide unique insights into the immediate and longitudinal impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on the dimensions of mental health, moral distress, health care delivery, and workplace environment of HCWs. The feasibility and acceptability of implementing a short-form and long-form survey on participant engagement and data retention will also be discussed. International Registered Report Identifier (IRRID): DERR1-10.2196/32663 ",
issn="1929-0748",
doi="10.2196/32663",
url="https://www.researchprotocols.org/2021/9/e32663",
url="https://doi.org/10.2196/32663",
url="http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/34477557"
}