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Dewhurst E, Ettman CK, Hare Bork R, Thornburg B, Abdalla SM, Galea S, Castrucci BC. Symptoms of Posttraumatic Stress During the COVID-19 Pandemic in the Governmental Public Health Workforce and General Population. J Public Health Manag Pract 2024; 30:E14-E20. [PMID: 37882760 PMCID: PMC10664775 DOI: 10.1097/phh.0000000000001837] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 10/27/2023]
Abstract
We aimed to estimate the prevalence of COVID-19-related posttraumatic stress symptoms (PTSS) in the governmental public health workforce and in US adults, assess differences in reporting PTSS within subgroups, and evaluate whether frontline workers reported higher levels of PTSS than persons in other jobs. We used data from 2 nationally representative studies: the 2021 Public Health Workforce Interests and Needs Survey (PH WINS) and the COVID-19 and Life Stressors Impact on Mental Health and Well-being (CLIMB) study. Our study found that the state and local governmental public health workforce was more likely to report PTSS than the general adult population. Almost a quarter of public health agency employees (24.7%) and 21.1% of adults reported at least 3 symptoms of posttraumatic stress. Differences in levels of PTSS appeared within demographic groups for both samples. Personal care and service frontline workers had 4.3 times the odds of reporting symptoms of posttraumatic stress than non-frontline workers.
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Affiliation(s)
- Emma Dewhurst
- de Beaumont Foundation, Bethesda, Maryland (Ms Dewhurst and Drs Hare Bork and Castrucci); Department of Health Policy & Management, Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health, Baltimore, Maryland (Dr Ettman and Mr Thornburg); and Department of Global Health (Dr Abdalla) and Office of the Dean (Dr Galea), Boston University School of Public Health, Boston, Massachusetts
| | - Catherine K. Ettman
- de Beaumont Foundation, Bethesda, Maryland (Ms Dewhurst and Drs Hare Bork and Castrucci); Department of Health Policy & Management, Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health, Baltimore, Maryland (Dr Ettman and Mr Thornburg); and Department of Global Health (Dr Abdalla) and Office of the Dean (Dr Galea), Boston University School of Public Health, Boston, Massachusetts
| | - Rachel Hare Bork
- de Beaumont Foundation, Bethesda, Maryland (Ms Dewhurst and Drs Hare Bork and Castrucci); Department of Health Policy & Management, Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health, Baltimore, Maryland (Dr Ettman and Mr Thornburg); and Department of Global Health (Dr Abdalla) and Office of the Dean (Dr Galea), Boston University School of Public Health, Boston, Massachusetts
| | - Benjamin Thornburg
- de Beaumont Foundation, Bethesda, Maryland (Ms Dewhurst and Drs Hare Bork and Castrucci); Department of Health Policy & Management, Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health, Baltimore, Maryland (Dr Ettman and Mr Thornburg); and Department of Global Health (Dr Abdalla) and Office of the Dean (Dr Galea), Boston University School of Public Health, Boston, Massachusetts
| | - Salma M. Abdalla
- de Beaumont Foundation, Bethesda, Maryland (Ms Dewhurst and Drs Hare Bork and Castrucci); Department of Health Policy & Management, Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health, Baltimore, Maryland (Dr Ettman and Mr Thornburg); and Department of Global Health (Dr Abdalla) and Office of the Dean (Dr Galea), Boston University School of Public Health, Boston, Massachusetts
| | - Sandro Galea
- de Beaumont Foundation, Bethesda, Maryland (Ms Dewhurst and Drs Hare Bork and Castrucci); Department of Health Policy & Management, Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health, Baltimore, Maryland (Dr Ettman and Mr Thornburg); and Department of Global Health (Dr Abdalla) and Office of the Dean (Dr Galea), Boston University School of Public Health, Boston, Massachusetts
| | - Brian C. Castrucci
- de Beaumont Foundation, Bethesda, Maryland (Ms Dewhurst and Drs Hare Bork and Castrucci); Department of Health Policy & Management, Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health, Baltimore, Maryland (Dr Ettman and Mr Thornburg); and Department of Global Health (Dr Abdalla) and Office of the Dean (Dr Galea), Boston University School of Public Health, Boston, Massachusetts
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