Public Health Workforce Burnout in the COVID-19 Response in the U.S

Kahler W. Stone, Kristina W. Kintziger, Meredith A. Jagger and Jennifer A. Horney
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Kahler W. Stone: Department of Health and Human Performance, Middle Tennessee State University, Murfreesboro, TN 37132, USA
Kristina W. Kintziger: Department of Public Health, University of Tennessee, Knoxville, TN 37996, USA
Meredith A. Jagger: Independent Researcher, Austin, TX 78704, USA
Jennifer A. Horney: Epidemiology Program, University of Delaware, Newark, DE 19713, USA

IJERPH, 2021, vol. 18, issue 8, 1-11

Abstract: While the health impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic on frontline health care workers have been well described, the effects of the COVID-19 response on the U.S. public health workforce, which has been impacted by the prolonged public health response to the pandemic, has not been adequately characterized. A cross-sectional survey of public health professionals was conducted to assess mental and physical health, risk and protective factors for burnout, and short- and long-term career decisions during the pandemic response. The survey was completed online using the Qualtrics survey platform. Descriptive statistics and prevalence ratios (95% confidence intervals) were calculated. Among responses received from 23 August and 11 September 2020, 66.2% of public health workers reported burnout. Those with more work experience (1–4 vs. <1 years: prevalence ratio (PR) = 1.90, 95% confidence interval (CI) = 1.08?3.36; 5–9 vs. <1 years: PR = 1.89, CI = 1.07?3.34) or working in academic settings (vs. practice: PR = 1.31, CI = 1.08–1.58) were most likely to report burnout. As of September 2020, 23.6% fewer respondents planned to remain in the U.S. public health workforce for three or more years compared to their retrospectively reported January 2020 plans. A large-scale public health emergency response places unsustainable burdens on an already underfunded and understaffed public health workforce. Pandemic-related burnout threatens the U.S. public health workforce’s future when many challenges related to the ongoing COVID-19 response remain unaddressed.

Keywords: COVID-19; public health; workforce; burnout; pandemic response (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: I I1 I3 Q Q5 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2021
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (9)

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