Threats to public health workers

Area of Science:

• Public Health
• Epidemiology
• Health Policy

Background:

• Media reports and professional organizations have highlighted harassment of public health workers during the COVID-19 pandemic.
• Understanding the nature and sources of threats is crucial for workforce retention and public health system capacity.

Purpose of the Study:

• To document personal and political threats experienced by public health workers during the first 12 months of the COVID-19 pandemic response.
• To analyze changes in the nature of these threats over time.

Main Methods:

• A longitudinal web-based survey was administered using the Qualtrics platform to public health workers.
• The survey collected demographic information, public health roles, mental/physical health, work-life balance, and details on received threats.
• 85 public health workers completed surveys in Fall 2020 and Summer 2021.

Main Results:

• Threats from the public and from elected/appointed leaders were most common at both survey timepoints.
• The nature of threats evolved over the 12-month study period.
• While current workers may show resilience, the prevalence of threats could deter new graduates.

Conclusions:

• Public health workers experienced persistent and evolving personal and political threats during the pandemic.
• These threats pose a risk to the future public health workforce and response capacity.
• Strategies to mitigate threats are needed to ensure a robust public health system.