Demographic, occupational factors and pandemic-related stressors associated with heightened mental health difficulties among UK health and social care workers supported by regional Resilience Hubs during the COVID-19 pandemic

Varese, Filippo ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-7244-598X, Allsopp, Kate ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-5093-0404, Carter, Lesley-Anne, Wilkinson, Jack ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-3513-4677, Shields, Gemma E ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-4869-7524, Rowlandson, Aleix, Chung, Priscilla, Hassan, Alysha A ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-9102-7812, White, Hannah ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-3944-4277, Wright, Sally-Anne, Young, Ellie, Davey, Jess, Barrett, Alan, Bhutani, Gita, Hind, Daniel ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-6409-4793, McGuirk, Katherine, Huntley, Fay, Sarsam, May, Walker, Holly, Jordan, Joanne, Ten Cate, Hein, Watson, Ruth, Willbourn, Jenni and French, Paul ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-4300-387X (2025) Demographic, occupational factors and pandemic-related stressors associated with heightened mental health difficulties among UK health and social care workers supported by regional Resilience Hubs during the COVID-19 pandemic. BMJ Open, 15 (2). e082817. ISSN 2044-6055

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Abstract

Background: During the COVID-19 pandemic, 40 mental health and well-being hubs were funded in England to support health and social care staff affected by the pandemic. Aims: To describe the characteristics of staff accessing four hubs for support and identify characteristics associated with clinically significant mental health difficulties and work and social functioning. Method: Routinely collected screening data were analysed from 1973 individuals across 4 hubs, including mental health, demographic and occupational data and pandemic-related stressors. Factors associated with clinically significant mental health difficulties were identified via logistic regression. Results: Most hub clients identified as white women who worked for the UK National Health Service; other groups were less well represented. Hub clients reported high levels of clinically significant mental health difficulties: 60% had severe and often co-occurring difficulties (ie, depression, anxiety, post-traumatic stress disorder or alcohol use) and 80% reported significantly impaired functioning. Younger age, disability status, identifying as from a minority ethnic group, and sexual orientations excluding heterosexual were associated with higher likelihood of having clinically significant mental health difficulties. Suffering financial loss during the pandemic, and prepandemic emotional well-being concerns were the most consistent factors associated with higher difficulties. Conclusions: The hubs supported health and social care staff with significant mental health difficulties. Outreach and engagement with under-represented groups should be undertaken to address potential barriers to service access. The findings add to the knowledge base on the support needs of the health and social care workforce and the planning of support in response to future crises.