The upshot of these needs for change is both dismaying and exciting, both disturbing in the destruction of long-familiar patterns of dealing with human suffering, and paradoxically hopeful in raising the possibility that significant failures in our health care systems of the past — limited access to medical care and grossly inadequate public sector “non-systems”, for example — may now be addressed more successfully.

Administration and policy in mental health

Race and Health Outcomes: Historical Perspectives and Implications for Aphasia Outcomes • 2000 – Congress passed the Minority Health and Health Disparities Research and Education Act of 2000 (Public Law 106‐525) • Authorized the Institute of Medicine’s (IOM) landmark study “Unequal Treatment” documenting longstanding disparities in healthcare across a variety of settings and health conditions. • The report also noted that racial minorities were far less likely to receive routine medical procedures, were more likely to experience lower quality healthcare services, but more likely to receive lower limb amputations and other less desirable treatment options for diabetes and other conditions.

Unequal Treatment—Confronting Racial and Ethnic Disparities in Healthcare

The COVID-19 pandemic has had a profound impact on the lives of individuals, families, and communities around the world with constraints on multiple aspects of daily life. The purpose of the present study was to identify specific profiles of pandemic-related experiences and their relation to psychosocial functioning using the 92-item Epidemic-Pandemic Impacts Inventory (EPII). Data were collected as part of a cross-sectional, online survey of adults (18+) residing in the Northeast region of the United States (N = 652) and recruited via online advertisements. Person-centered latent class analysis (LCA) was applied to 38 pandemic-related experiences that showed a significant bivariate correlation with perceived stress. Measures of psychosocial risk were also obtained. Results revealed five unique profiles of respondents based on patterns of pandemic-related experiences. Three profiles representing about 64% of the sample were characterized by moderate to high exposure to adverse experiences during the pandemic and were more likely to screen positive for depression, anxiety, and posttraumatic stress. These profiles were differentiated by sociodemographic differences, including age, caregiving, and employment status. Two profiles differentiated by age and caregiver status represented about 36% of the sample and were characterized by relatively low exposure to adverse experiences and lower risk for psychosocial impairment. Findings support the EPII as an instrument for measuring tangible and meaningful experiences in the context of an unprecedented pandemic disaster. This research may serve to identify high-risk subpopulations toward developing public health strategies for supporting families and communities in the context of public health emergencies such as the COVID-19 pandemic.

Profiling COVID-related experiences in the United States with the Epidemic-Pandemic Impacts Inventory: Linkages to psychosocial functioning.

The 2020–2021 academic year brought numerous challenges to teachers across the country as they worked to educate students amidst the COVID-19 pandemic. The current study is a secondary data analysis of qualitative responses collected as part of a teacher survey to evaluate a social emotional learning curriculum implemented during the 2020–2021 academic year. The lived experiences of teachers (N = 52) across 11 elementary schools in the Great Plains region were captured through open-ended questions as the teachers transitioned from in-person to remote learning. A phenomenological approach was utilized to analyze the challenges expressed by teachers as they faced instability and additional professional demands. Given that stress and other factors that strain mental health exist within multiple layers of an individual's social ecology, a modified social-ecological framework was used to organize the results and themes. Findings suggest that during the academic year, teachers experienced stressors related to their personal and professional roles, concerns for students’ well-being which extended beyond academics, and frustrations with administration and other institutional entities around COVID safety measures. Without adequate support and inclusion of teacher perspectives, job-related stress may lead to teacher shortages, deterioration of teacher mental health, and ultimately worse outcomes for students. Implications for policy, research, and practice are discussed. 

/pdf/teachers-stress-and-the-covid-19-pandemic-a-qualitative-1n31fvnq.pdf

Teachers, Stress, and the COVID-19 Pandemic: A Qualitative Analysis

The impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on education included school closures and the implementation of virtual teaching and teleworking without the knowledge or resources needed to do so. This situation accentuated the inequality in accessing quality education and generated high rates of stress, anxiety, and general discomfort in teachers. This study aimed to explore the mental health of teachers who were forced to telework because of COVID-19, and to analyze the association with sociodemographic, teacher-related, and working conditions. The sample was 278 classroom teachers in Chile who teleworked more than 50% during the 2020 academic year. The participants were mostly women (82%) who entered the teaching profession at age 30 or younger (87%) and worked two or more unpaid overtime hours per day (67%). The dependent variable was mental health measured through the General Health Questionnaire (GHQ-12). The independent variables were sociodemographic, teacher-related, and work conditions. The internal structure of the mental health construct was evaluated using the Rasch model. Crude odds ratios (cORs) and adjusted odds ratios (aORs) were estimated using logistic regression models. A high rate of poor mental health was identified in teachers (58%). The variables associated with poor mental health were working in a private–subsidized school (aOR = 2.89; 95% CI: 1.16–7.22), working two or more unpaid overtime hours (aOR = 2.25; 95% CI: 1.11–4.59), and being absent due to sickness (aOR = 3.82; 95% CI: 1.53–9.58). These results provide evidence suggesting the need for actions to improve the working conditions of teachers who telework in order to improve their mental health, and thus have a positive impact on the entire educational community.

https://dialnet.unirioja.es/descarga/articulo/7997683.pdf

Mental Health of Teachers Who Have Teleworked Due to COVID-19

The COVID-19 pandemic has placed significant demands on teachers. The current study uses needs assessment data gathered from 454 New Orleans charter school teachers (81% women; 55% Black; 73% regul...

Megan C. Saybe

Papers

The Experience of COVID-19 and Its Impact on Teachers’ Mental Health, Coping, and Teaching