More than half (56 percent) of America’s public health workers reported at least one symptom of post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic, a report from the de Beaumont Foundation and the Association of State and Territorial Health Officials (ASTHO) finds.

Based on a survey of nearly 45,000 employees in state and local government public health departments, the report brief, The Impact of the COVID-19 Pandemic: Rising Stress and Burnout in Public Health (7 pages, PDF), also found that 25 percent reported experiencing three or four symptoms, indicating probable PTSD, and that 22 percent indicated their mental health is either “fair” or “poor.” Workers in the field also expressed high levels of harassment, with 41 percent agreeing with the statement “I have felt bullied, threatened, or harassed by individuals outside of the health department” (compared with 16 percent of the entire workforce), and 59 percent agreeing with the statement “I have felt my public health expertise was undermined or challenged by individuals outside of the health department” (compared with 29 percent of the entire workforce).

According to the survey, nearly one-third of the public health workforce (32 percent) indicated they are considering leaving the field in the next year, 5 percent for retirement and 27 percent for other reasons, and among those who said they’re considering leaving in the next year, 39 percent indicated that the COVID-19 pandemic has made them more likely to leave.

“Public health has been underfunded for decades, but the pandemic has pushed the workforce to their limit,” said de Beaumont Foundation president and CEO Brian C. Castrucci, who holds a doctor of public health degree. “This is an underreported story that affects the health of communities across the country. These data show that the public health workforce is fast approaching a breaking point.”

(Photo credit: Getty Images/Juan Monino)