Suicidal thoughts and behaviour among healthcare workers in England during the COVID-19 pandemic: A longitudinal study

Prianka Padmanathan*, Danielle Lamb, Hannah Scott, Sharon Stevelink, Neil Greenberg, Matthew Hotopf, Richard Morriss, Rosalind Raine, Anne marie Rafferty, Ira Madan, Sarah Dorrington, Simon Wessely, Paul Moran, Charlotte Lennox (Editor)

*Corresponding author for this work

Research output: Contribution to journalArticle (Academic Journal)peer-review

2 Citations (Scopus)

Abstract

Background
During the COVID-19 pandemic, concern has been raised about suicide risk among healthcare workers (HCWs). We investigated the incidence risk and prevalence of suicidal thoughts and behaviour (STB), and their relationship with occupational risk factors, among National Health Service HCWs in England between April 2020 and August 2021.

Methods
In this longitudinal study, we analysed online survey data completed by 22,501 HCWs from 17 NHS Trusts at baseline (Time 1) and six months (Time 2). The primary outcome measures were suicidal ideation, suicide attempts, and non-suicidal self-injury. We used logistic regression to investigate the relationship between these outcomes and demographic characteristics and occupational factors. Results were stratified by occupational role (clinical/non-clinical).

Results
Time 1 and Time 2 surveys were completed by 12,514 and 7,160 HCWs, respectively. At baseline, 10.8% (95% CI = 10.1%, 11.6%) of participants reported having experienced suicidal thoughts in the previous two months, whilst 2.1% (95% CI = 1.8%, 2.5%) of participants reported having attempted suicide over the same period. Among HCWs who had not experienced suicidal thoughts at baseline (and who completed the Time 2 survey), 11.3% (95%CI = 10.4%, 12.3%) reported such thoughts six months later. Six months after baseline, 3.9% (95% CI = 3.4%, 4.4%) of HCWs reported attempting suicide for the first time. Exposure to potentially morally injurious events, lack of confidence about raising safety concerns and these concerns being addressed, feeling unsupported by managers, and providing a reduced standard of care were all associated with increased suicidal ideation among HCWs during the COVID-19 pandemic. At six months, among clinicians, a lack of confidence about safety concerns being addressed, independently predicted suicidal ideation.

Conclusion
Suicidal thoughts and behaviour among healthcare workers could be reduced by improving managerial support and enhancing the ability of staff to raise safety concerns.
Original languageEnglish
Article numbere0286207
Number of pages17
JournalPLoS ONE
Volume18
Issue number6
DOIs
Publication statusPublished - 21 Jun 2023

Bibliographical note

Funding for main NHS CHECK cohort study (co-chief investigators SW, SAMS, RR, MH, NG) was received from the following sources: Medical Research Council (MR/V034405/1); UCL/Wellcome (ISSF3/ H17RCO/C3); Rosetrees (M952); Economic and Social Research Council (ES/V009931/1); NHS England and NHS Improvement; as well as seed funding from National Institute for Health Research Maudsley Biomedical Research Centre, King's College London, National Institute for Health Research Health Protection Research Unit in Emergency Preparedness and Response at King's College London. P.M. is supported by the NIHR Applied Research Collaboration (ARC West) and the NIHR Biomedical Research Centre at University Hospitals Bristol and Weston NHS Foundation Trust and the University of Bristol. The funders had no role in study design, data collection and analysis, decision to publish, or preparation of the manuscript.

Fingerprint

Dive into the research topics of 'Suicidal thoughts and behaviour among healthcare workers in England during the COVID-19 pandemic: A longitudinal study'. Together they form a unique fingerprint.

Cite this