COST NHS [COVID-19]
Research type
Research Study
Full title
COST NHS: COvid burden for STaff working in the NHS.\nA study to assess the mental health burden of the COVID-19 pandemic on NHS healthcare staff.\n
IRAS ID
282467
Contact name
Sarah Danson
Contact email
Sponsor organisation
Sheffield Teaching Hospital NHS Foundation Trust
Duration of Study in the UK
2 years, 0 months, 0 days
Research summary
The COVID-19 crisis began in China in December 2019 and was declared a pandemic by the World Health Organisation on March 11th 2020. The pandemic has changed the way that we interact with and treat patients overnight. Staff within the NHS will be under high levels of stress due to the increased needs and worse outcomes of their patients and need to cover for colleagues who are themselves sick or self-isolating. Other staff will be unable to work as they are shielding or shelf-isolating and may feel helpless and guilty. The psychological impact of the pandemic will be prolonged and varied. It is vital that we increase our understanding as much as possible to support NHS staff.\n\nThe aim of this survey is to examine the possible mental health burden on NHS staff as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic and how these change as the pandemic progresses. By understanding these effects, it will allow researchers to identify recommendations to allow appropriate support mechanisms to be put in place for NHS staff, to better manage this and future pandemics and similar crises. \n\nWe are aiming to sample several cohorts of NHS staff including a subset of staff who are shielding. Staff will be asked to complete a series of online surveys at multiple timepoints: on study initiation, 1 month later and then 3 months after the pandemic has ceased in the UK. Additional timepoints may be added depending on the length and severity of the pandemic .\n\nThe main outcomes will be tracking changes in mental health measurements at the pre-defined timepoints. This work will allow us to produce recommendations about the increased mental health support that NHS staff will need. If a need is demonstrated then an interventional research project will be designed and implemented.
REC name
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REC reference
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