Pandemic-related stress and suicide risk among healthcare professionals during the pandemic.

Background: Depression and suicide are common in the hospital workplace. Extreme stress is more likely in periods of major crisis.

Methods: To determine the stress levels and sources of stress for healthcare providers, a survey was administered to approximately 3000 clinicians in a single healthcare system in April 2022, gathering both quantitative and free-text responses.

Results: A total of 485 clinicians completed the questionnaire. Their responses revealed a high level of pandemic-related, personal, and professional stress, as well as burnout. Top stressors included staffing issues, increased workload, isolation and lack of professional connection, administrative and policy struggles, dealing with patient expectations, mental health and emotional toll, lack of resources and support, training and career disruptions, and public misinformation. In addition, 3.9% confided in someone about thoughts of taking their life, and 2% indicated they currently had thoughts of suicide. Overall, 1.8% of respondents experienced no stress; 19.7%, a little stress; 37.9%, a moderate amount of stress; 24.3%, a lot of stress; and 16.4%, a great deal of stress.

Conclusions: Healthcare institutions must address these issues by providing more support, resources, and mental health services to healthcare workers.