An Investigation of Organizational Correlates of Distress in Non-Clinician Biomedical Researchers in the United States

Abstract

Purpose Challenges ushered by the COVID-19 pandemic led to an increased focus on the mental well-being of the healthcare workforce. Despite the important contribution non-clinician biomedical researchers make to the mission of academic medical centers, the well-being of this unique population remains understudied in the United States. The purpose of this study was to examine the individual and organizational correlates of distress among non-clinician biomedical researchers. Methods A survey was delivered to employees of a large academic medical center in the southeastern United States, including non-clinician biomedical researchers. Participants were asked to assess their own well-being using the validated Well-Being Index (WBI) tool, resilience, work and nonwork-related stressors and demographic descriptors. Descriptive statistics and bivariate analyses were conducted, and binary logistic regression was used to examine predictors of increased odds of overall distress. Results Nearly 44% of surveyed non-clinician biomedical researchers met the threshold for high distress which indicates an increased risk of suicidal ideation, turnover intention, and burnout. The major correlates of distress were at the organizational level, including perceived organizational support (OR 0.79, 95% CI 0.70–0.90), heavy workload and long hours (OR 3.25, 95% CI 1.53–6.88), inability or lack of support to take time off (OR 2.80, 95% CI 1.03–7.66) and conflict with supervisor (OR 5.03, 95% CI 1.13–22.1). While lower individual resilience (OR 0.69, 95% CI 0.54–0.88) was statistically significantly associated with greater distress, it accounted for less than 10% of the overall variance when controlling for other work-related factors. Conclusion These findings suggest that developing organizational interventions that address institutional support for non-clinician biomedical researchers within academic medical centers represents an important opportunity to reduce distress within this population. While emphasizing individual resiliency as an important in the pursuit of well-being, it is also the responsibility of the organization to create and foster an environment in which employees can access their own resilience.

Burnout, Moral Distress, and Compassion Fatigue as Correlates of Posttraumatic Stress Symptoms in Clinical and Nonclinical Healthcare Workers

“…Concerningly, the COVID-19 pandemic exacerbated PTSS in this population (Ouyang et al, 2022), therefore demanding urgent and careful action. Our findings elucidate the enduring impact of stressors taking place during the COVID-19 pandemic and extend our previous work that aimed to understand the correlates of well-being and distress in healthcare teams by investigating PTSS in this population as a major outcome of the pandemic (Boitet et al, 2023;Meese et al, 2021). Accordingly, these findings serve as a cautionary note for healthcare organizations and leaders.…”

“…HCWs are highly resilient, yet they need the ability to access their own resilience (Boitet et al, 2023; Meese et al, 2021). Unsurprisingly, those reporting higher individual resilience were less likely to report PTSS in the present study.…”

“…These circumstances may have led to differences in interactions between gender and PTSS, considering that caregiving responsibilities are disproportionately carried by women (Ferrant et al, 2014). Meese and colleagues (2023) described the lingering effects of caregiving exhaustion on women in healthcare and the significant negative association between caregiving exhaustion and the perception of organizational support. If organizations aim to retain these individuals in the workforce, they must evaluate these nonwork-related factors as they design policies and practices.…”

“…Clinical and nonclinical employees in the healthcare workforce have unique stressors depending on the job role (Boitet et al, 2023; Colón-López et al, 2022; Meese et al, 2021). However, regardless of role, the top three factors associated with PTSS are the same: burnout, moral distress, and compassion fatigue, accounting for 45% and 44.4% of the predicted variance in our regression models for clinical and nonclinical populations, respectively.…”

First insights into post-pandemic distress in a high secure hospital: correlates among staff and patients

“…The implications for practice are as follows: Address and alleviate the heightened distress among frontline workers, emphasising the urgency of interventions due to the significant and ongoing burdens exacerbated by the pandemic (Ouyang et al , 2022; Boitet et al , 2023). Prioritise the development and implementation of interventions to mitigate the lasting psychological effects of COVID-19, especially targeting the well-being of frontline workers. Develop advanced data collection methods for future pandemics, or staff shortage crises, integrating strategies to explore effective coping mechanisms during such crises. Undertake and replicate comprehensive research in various secure facilities to understand the long-term consequences of the pandemic, focusing on its psychological and social impacts. …”