Longitudinal assessment of physician wellness during the COVID-19 pandemic

Physician wellness was greatly impacted during the COVID-19 pandemic. Busy clinical services, personal safety concerns, changing guidelines, and compassion fatigue weighed on physicians. Although studies have examined physician wellness, few have studied how it changed over time. A survey about wellness was distributed to 299 physicians at Ascension St. Vincent Hospital-Indianapolis March 2020, July 2020, November 2020, and March 2021. Physicians also free-texted about their well-being during the pandemic. Participation rates over the four time periods averaged 22.23%. Responses were compared among the time periods using Pearson Chi-Square and Fisher's Exact Tests. Six wellness factors (anxiety, worry about becoming ill, worry about infecting family, worry about caring for children, concern about personal finances) were reported as worse after the pandemic began, but statistically significantly improved over the course of the study. In contrast, seven wellness measures (increased issues with depression, frustration, hopelessness, fatigue, dread going to work, worry about missing work, worry about caring for family), that also worsened after the pandemic began, did not statistically improve over time. Physician wellness was impacted by the pandemic; however, not all measures followed the same course over time. Longitudinal assessments of wellness can help inform programs to best support physicians.