P035 COVID-19’s Impact on Head Start Teachers’ Relationships, Health Behaviors, and Stress Levels

Abstract

BackgroundEarly care and education (ECE) workers experience physical and mental barriers to health. The novel Coronavirus Disease (COVID-19) worsened ECE workers' physical health, emotional stress, and financial burdens. These measures of well-being are important as they have also been linked to ECE workers' relationship with children in their classrooms.ObjectiveExamine the impact of COVID-19 on the well-being of North Carolina (NC) Head Start (HS) teachers with an emphasis on their personal/professional relationships, personal health behaviors, and stressors.Study Design, Setting, ParticipantsA cross sectional convenience sample of NC HS teachers were recruited to participate in the study. Data were collected from teachers across all three regions of North Carolina September 2020-March 2021 using an online 27-item survey.Measurable Outcome/AnalysisResearchers analyzed demographic information and quantitative survey data using basic descriptive statistics. Two researchers coded participants’ open-ended responses using basic thematic analysis.ResultsSurvey respondents (n = 88) were predominantly female (97.6%), Black/African American (46.6%) or White (43.2%), with an average age of 43 years old. Teachers reported increased challenges to maintaining relationships with coworkers (57.9%), children in their classrooms (84.4%), and the children's families (81.1%). Half (50.6%) reported COVID-19 impacted their health. Over 70% indicated COVID-19 made physical activity challenging, 61.5% experienced weight gain, and 59% increased their snacking. Teachers expressed an increase in six psychological distress indicators; nervousness (88.9%), hopelessness (54.3%), restlessness (72.4%), sadness (50.6%), everything is an effort (58.4%) and worthlessness (31.2%).ConclusionsSurvey results furthered the understanding of COVID-19’s effects on HS teacher health. In a workforce overburdened with stress, COVID-19 compounded and created barriers to wellness. Future research should explore avenues to reduce health barriers for all ECE workers during the ongoing pandemic.FundingNIH