新数据说明 COVID-19 大流行对感染预防人员的心理和身体健康产生了负面影响

Arlington, Va., July 14, 2022 – Findings from a first-of-its-kind study published today in the American Journal of Infection Control (AJIC) suggest that infection preventionists experienced worsening mental and physical health as a result of stressors related to the COVID-19 pandemic. The study, which evaluated infection preventionists’ health, well-being and their association with workplace wellness programs, highlights a need to fix hospital and healthcare facilities’ system issues that cause burnout and poor health, and to enhance workplace wellness programs and culture.

Infection preventionists are responsible for reducing the risk of healthcare-associated infections (HAIs) in hospitals and other health facilities, including long-term care and outpatient surgery centers. During the COVID-19 pandemic, these professionals have had to manage rapidly changing guidance, dramatic increases in HAIs and workload, and shortages of personal protective equipment (PPE) and staff, among other challenges.

“Infection preventionists have been actively engaged in managing the COVID-19 pandemic for more than two years, yet there hasn’t been a study evaluating their health and well-being and how these are associated with workplace wellness programs and culture,” said Bernadette Mazurek Melnyk, PhD, chief wellness officer and College of Nursing dean at The Ohio State University and lead author on the study. “This is important information because poor health and well-being among infection prevention professionals not only adversely impacts them, but also negatively impacts the quality and safety of healthcare.”

Dr. Melnyk and colleagues developed a survey exploring infection preventionists’ mental/physical health and lifestyle behaviors during the pandemic, and the associations of these factors with individuals’ professional roles, perceived workplace wellness support, shift length and race/ethnicity. The survey was emailed to a random sample of members of the Association for Professionals in Infection Control and Epidemiology (APIC), the leading organization for infection preventionists.

Responses from 926 professionals show that infection preventionists’ physical and mental health were negatively impacted during the pandemic, and that individuals’ professional roles, the level of wellness support they received in the workplace and shift lengths were primary factors. Specific findings include:

High numbers of respondents reported that the COVID-19 pandemic adversely affected their mental (74%) and/or physical (60%) health.

Rates of depression, anxiety and burnout among survey respondents were 21.5%, 29.8% and 65.2%, respectively.

Most respondents said the pandemic negatively impacted their sleep (77%), physical activity (64.5%) and healthy eating (61.1%).

Front-line practitioners (74.1%) and infection prevention administrators/directors (76.3%) had more negative mental health impacts than peers in other roles (e.g., educator, researcher, public health practitioner).

Infection preventionists working 9-11+ hours per day were more likely to report worsening physical/mental health during the pandemic as compared to their peers who worked <8 hours per day.

Infection preventionists with organizational wellness support were less likely to report negative mental and physical impacts from the COVID-19 pandemic.

The study authors suggest that healthcare organizations take multiple steps to better protect the health and safety of infection preventionists, including fixing system issues known to cause burnout and poor health among staff (e.g., short staffing), implementing targeted interventions to promote resilience and self-care and instituting shorter shift lengths.

“Infection preventionists have been instrumental in enabling healthcare facilities to deliver safe care during the COVID-19 pandemic,” said Linda Dickey, RN, MPH, CIC, FAPIC, 2022 APIC president. “The fact that so many are exhibiting symptoms of burnout is concerning and should prompt employers to adopt programs to promote well-being in order to retain these highly skilled professionals.”

NOTES FOR EDITORS

“Associations among infection prevention professionals’ mental/physical health, lifestyle behaviors, shift length, race, and workplace wellness support during COVID-19,” by Bernadette Mazurek Melnyk, PhD; Andreanna Pavan Hsieh, MPH; Devin A. Jopp, EdD; and Sara Miller, MBA, was published online in AJIC on July 14, 2022. The article may be found online at: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ajic.2022.04.004

全文翻译（仅供参考）

今天发表在《美国感染控制杂志》 (AJIC)上的一项首创的研究结果表明，感染预防者的心理和身体健康状况因与以下相关的压力源而恶化COVID-19 大流行。该研究评估了感染预防人员的健康、福祉及其与工作场所健康计划的关系，强调需要解决导致倦怠和健康状况不佳的医院和医疗机构系统问题，并加强工作场所健康计划和文化。

感染预防专家负责降低医院和其他卫生设施（包括长期护理和门诊手术中心）发生医疗保健相关感染 (HAI) 的风险。在 COVID-19 大流行期间，这些专业人员不得不应对快速变化的指导、HAI 和工作量的急剧增加以及个人防护设备 (PPE) 和人员短缺等挑战。

“两年多来，感染预防专家一直在积极参与管理 COVID-19 大流行，但还没有一项研究评估他们的健康和福祉，以及这些与工作场所健康计划和文化的关系，”伯纳黛特说Mazurek Melnyk 博士，俄亥俄州立大学首席健康官兼护理学院院长，该研究的主要作者。“这是重要的信息，因为感染预防专业人员的健康状况不佳不仅会对他们产生不利影响，还会对医疗保健的质量和安全产生负面影响。”

Melnyk 博士及其同事开展了一项调查，探索大流行期间感染预防人员的心理/身体健康和生活方式行为，以及这些因素与个人的专业角色、感知的工作场所健康支持、轮班长度和种族/民族之间的关联。该调查通过电子邮件发送给感染控制和流行病学专业协会 (APIC) 的随机样本，该协会是感染预防专家的主要组织。

来自 926 名专业人员的回复表明，感染预防人员的身心健康在大流行期间受到了负面影响，个人的专业角色、他们在工作场所获得的健康支持水平和轮班时间是主要因素。具体发现包括：

大量受访者报告称，COVID-19 大流行对他们的心理 (74%) 和/或身体 (60%) 健康产生了不利影响。

受访者的抑郁、焦虑和倦怠率分别为 21.5%、29.8% 和 65.2%。

大多数受访者表示，大流行对他们的睡眠（77%）、身体活动（64.5%）和健康饮食（61.1%）产生了负面影响。

一线从业人员 (74.1%) 和感染预防管理人员/主管 (76.3%) 对心理健康的负面影响比其他角色的同行（例如，教育工作者、研究员、公共卫生从业者）更大。

与每天工作少于 8 小时的同龄人相比，每天工作 9-11 小时以上的感染预防人员更有可能报告在大流行期间身体/心理健康状况恶化。

获得组织健康支持的感染预防专家不太可能报告 COVID-19 大流行对精神和身体造成的负面影响。

研究作者建议医疗机构采取多种措施来更好地保护感染预防人员的健康和安全，包括解决已知会导致员工倦怠和健康状况不佳的系统问题（例如，人员短缺），实施有针对性的干预措施以提高复原力和自我恢复能力。关心和制定更短的轮班长度。

“在 COVID-19大流行期间，感染预防专家在使医疗机构能够提供安全护理方面发挥了重要作用，”2022 APIC 总裁、注册护士、公共卫生硕士、CIC、FAPIC 的 Linda Dickey 说。“这么多人表现出倦怠症状这一事实令人担忧，应该促使雇主采取促进福利的计划，以留住这些高技能的专业人士。”

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