Prevalence and drivers of nurse and physician distress in cardiovascular and oncology programmes at a Canadian quaternary hospital network during the COVID-19 pandemic: a quality improvement initiative

Abstract

ObjectivesTo assess the prevalence and drivers of distress, a composite of burnout, decreased meaning in work, severe fatigue, poor work–life integration and quality of life, and suicidal ideation, among nurses and physicians during the COVID-19 pandemic.DesignCross-sectional design to evaluate distress levels of nurses and physicians during the COVID-19 pandemic between June and August 2021.SettingCardiovascular and oncology care settings at a Canadian quaternary hospital network.Participants261 nurses and 167 physicians working in cardiovascular or oncology care. Response rate was 29% (428 of 1480).Outcome measuresSurvey tool to measure clinician distress using the Well-Being Index (WBI) and additional questions about workplace-related and COVID-19 pandemic-related factors.ResultsAmong 428 respondents, nurses (82%, 214 of 261) and physicians (62%, 104 of 167) reported high distress on the WBI survey. Higher WBI scores (≥2) in nurses were associated with perceived inadequate staffing (174 (86%) vs 28 (64%), p=0.003), unfair treatment, (105 (52%) vs 11 (25%), p=0.005), and pandemic-related impact at work (162 (80%) vs 22 (50%), p<0.001) and in their personal life (135 (67%) vs 11 (25%), p<0.001), interfering with job performance. Higher WBI scores (≥3) in physicians were associated with perceived inadequate staffing (81 (79%) vs 32 (52%), p=0.001), unfair treatment (44 (43%) vs 13 (21%), p=0.02), professional dissatisfaction (29 (28%) vs 5 (8%), p=0.008), and pandemic-related impact at work (84 (82%) vs 35 (56%), p=0.001) and in their personal life (56 (54%) vs 24 (39%), p=0.014), interfering with job performance.ConclusionHigh distress was common among nurses and physicians working in cardiovascular and oncology care settings during the pandemic and linked to factors within and beyond the workplace. These results underscore the complex and contextual aspects of clinician distress, and the need to develop targeted approaches to effectively address this problem.