Safety Responsiveness and Psychological Distress Among Health Care Workers During COVID-19 (2020-2022) in the Pacific Northwest.

Abstract

<b>Objectives.</b> The COVID-19 pandemic imposed unprecedented safety challenges on health care facilities. This study examined whether health care workers who deemed a better safety response to the pandemic by their units or employers experienced lower psychological distress. <b>Methods.</b> Patient care workers at a health care system in the Pacific Northwest were surveyed every 6 to 8 months from May 2020 to May 2022 (n = 3468). Psychological distress was measured with the Well-being Index (range: -2 to 7 points). Safety response was scored on the basis of participants' ratings (on a 1-5 scale) of equipment sufficiency and responsiveness to safety concerns by their health care system and unit. <b>Results.</b> Adjusted multilevel regressions showed an inverse association between safety responsiveness and psychological distress at the individual level (b = -0.54; 95% confidence interval [CI] = -0.67, -0.41) and the unit level (b = -0.73; 95% CI = -1.46, -0.01). The cross-level interaction was also statistically significant (b = -0.46; 95% CI = -0.87, -0.05). <b>Conclusions.</b> Health care workers who deemed a better response to safety challenges reported lower psychological distress. This study highlights the need for continued efforts to ensure adequate safety resources. (<i>Am J Public Health</i>. 2024;114(S2):S204-S212. https://doi.org/10.2105/AJPH.2024.307582).