MMWR Morb Mortal Wkly Rep. 2021 Dec 3;70(48):1680-1685. doi: 10.15585/mmwr.mm7048a6.
Increases in mental health conditions have been documented among the general population and health care workers since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic (1-3). Public health workers might be at similar risk for negative mental health consequences because of the prolonged demand for responding to the pandemic and for implementing an unprecedented vaccination campaign. The extent of mental health conditions among public health workers during the COVID-19 pandemic, however, is uncertain. A 2014 survey estimated that there were nearly 250,000 state and local public health workers in the United States (4). To evaluate mental health conditions among these workers, a nonprobability-based online survey was conducted during March 29-April 16, 2021, to assess symptoms of depression, anxiety, post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), and suicidal ideation among public health workers in state, tribal, local, and territorial public health departments. Among 26,174 respondents, 52.8% reported symptoms of at least one mental health condition in the preceding 2 weeks, including depression (30.8%), anxiety (30.3%), PTSD (36.8%), or suicidal ideation (8.4%). The highest prevalence of symptoms of a mental health condition was among respondents aged ≤29 years (range = 13.6%-47.4%) and transgender or nonbinary persons (i.e., those who identified as neither male nor female) of all ages (range = 30.4%-65.5%). Public health workers who reported being unable to take time off from work were more likely to report adverse mental health symptoms. Severity of symptoms increased with increasing weekly work hours and percentage of work time dedicated to COVID-19 response activities. Implementing prevention and control practices that eliminate, reduce, and manage factors that cause or contribute to public health workers' poor mental health might improve mental health outcomes during emergencies.
自 COVID-19 大流行开始以来，已在普通人群和医护人员中记录到心理健康状况的增加（1-3）。由于对大流行做出反应和实施前所未有的疫苗接种运动的需求持续增加，公共卫生工作者可能面临类似的负面心理健康后果的风险。然而，在 COVID-19 大流行期间，公共卫生工作者的心理健康状况程度尚不确定。2014 年的一项调查估计，美国有近 25 万名州和地方公共卫生工作者（4）。为了评估这些工作人员的心理健康状况，于 2021 年 3 月 29 日至 4 月 16 日进行了一项非概率性在线调查，以评估州、部落、地方和地区公共卫生部门公共卫生工作者的抑郁、焦虑、创伤后应激障碍（PTSD）和自杀意念症状。在 26174 名受访者中，有 52.8%的人在前两周内报告了至少一种心理健康状况的症状，包括抑郁（30.8%）、焦虑（30.3%）、PTSD（36.8%）或自杀意念（8.4%）。在年龄≤29 岁的受访者（范围为 13.6%-47.4%）和所有年龄段的跨性别或非二元性别者（即既非男性也非女性的人）中，心理健康状况症状的患病率最高（范围为 30.4%-65.5%）。报告无法休假的公共卫生工作者更有可能报告不良心理健康症状。症状的严重程度随着每周工作时间的增加和用于应对 COVID-19 活动的工作时间比例的增加而增加。实施消除、减少和管理导致或促成公共卫生工作者心理健康状况不佳的因素的预防和控制措施，可能会改善紧急情况下的心理健康结果。
