Decreasing Wellbeing and Increasing Use of Negative Coping Strategies: The Effect of the COVID-19 Pandemic on the UK Health and Social Care Workforce.

Patricia Gillen,Jill Manthorpe,Patricia Nicholl,Heike Schroder,Susan Mcgrory,Denise Currie,Paula Mcfadden,John Mallett,Ruth D Neill,John Moriarty,Jermaine Ravalier

doi:10.3390/epidemiologia3010003

Abstract

Many health and social care (HSC) professionals have faced overwhelming pressures throughout the COVID-19 pandemic. As the current situation is constantly changing, and some restrictions across the UK countries such as social distancing and mask wearing in this period (May-July 2021) began to ease, it is important to examine how this workforce has been affected and how employers can help rebuild their services. The aim of this study was to compare cross-sectional data collected from the HSC workforce in the UK at three time points during the COVID-19 pandemic: Phase 1 (May-July 2020), Phase 2 (November 2020-January 2021) and Phase 3 (May-July 2021). Respondents surveyed across the UK (England, Wales, Scotland, Northern Ireland) consisted of nurses, midwives, allied health professionals, social care workers and social workers. Wellbeing and work-related quality of life significantly declined from Phase 1 to 3 (p < 0.001); however, no significant difference occurred between Phases 2 and 3 (p > 0.05). Respondents increasingly used negative coping strategies between Phase 1 (May-July 2020) and Phase 3 (May-July 2021), suggesting that the HSC workforce has been negatively impacted by the pandemic. These results have the potential to inform HSC employers' policies, practices, and interventions as the workforce continues to respond to the COVID-19 virus and its legacy.

Highlights

Declared a pandemic in March 2020 [1], the novel Coronavirus (COVID-19) outbreak spread rapidly worldwide, changing how individuals lived and worked, with a severe impact on health, education, politics, the environment, and the economy [2,3,4]
This paper aims to provide an insight into the wellbeing of nurses, midwives, AHPs, social care workers and social workers, and explores the importance and relevance of certain variables between all three different phases of the COVID-19 pandemic
The overall research project focuses on mental wellbeing, quality of working life, burnout and coping strategies in nurses, midwives, allied health professionals (AHPS), social care workers and social workers from across the United Kingdom (UK) who are employed in a range of settings such as the community, day services, care homes and hospitals

Summary

Introduction

Declared a pandemic in March 2020 [1], the novel Coronavirus (COVID-19) outbreak spread rapidly worldwide, changing how individuals lived and worked, with a severe impact on health, education, politics, the environment, and the economy [2,3,4]. Epidemiologia 2022, 3 restrictions on daily activity and travel. Mask wearing, working from home if possible and the importance of good hygiene practices, such as handwashing were highlighted in public health campaigns globally [6,7,8,9,10]. These changes affected working conditions for millions, those working in the health and social care (HSC) sector, many of whom experienced new pressures at work.

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