Health care workers reported more days of poor mental health in 2022

Health workers continued to report poor mental health and burnout in 2022, according to a 'Vital Signs' report published in the Oct. 24 issue of the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report.

Jeannie A.S. Nigam, from the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health at the CDC in Atlanta, and colleagues analyzed data from the General Social Survey Quality of Worklife Module to compare self-reported mental health symptoms among U.S. adult workers from 2018 and 2022 (226 and 325 health workers, respectively).

The researchers found that for health care workers, there was an increase of 1.2 days of poor mental health during the previous 30 days from 2018 to 2022 (from 3.3 to 4.5 days); there was also an increase in the percentage who reported feeling burnout very often (11.6 to 19.0%).

Health workers experienced lower odds of burnout in 2022 if they trusted management, had supervisor help, had enough time to complete work, and felt that their workplace supported productivity (odds ratios, 0.40, 0.26, 0.33, and 0.38, respectively) compared with those who did not. There was an association observed for harassment at work with increased odds of anxiety, depression, and burnout (odds ratios, 5.01, 3.38, and 5.83, respectively).

"Protecting and promoting health worker mental health has important implications for the nation's health system and public health," the authors write.