# Physicians? Occupational Health During Covid-19: A Qualitative Analysis of Systems Factors

> **NIH ALLCDC R21** · UNIV OF NORTH CAROLINA CHAPEL HILL · 2021 · $201,444

## Abstract

PROJECT ABSTRACT
US physicians are at high risk for depression, substance abuse, suicide, overwork, exhaustion,
and burnout. New working conditions imposed by the COVID-19 pandemic have exacerbated
these occupational health burdens for physicians at a time when baseline levels of stress,
burnout, and poor mental health were already overwhelmingly high. Research on physician
burnout has expanded, yet much of it focuses on individual-level causes and solutions that do
little to identify and respond to the broader structural factors shaping physicians' wellbeing. This
study will apply an occupational health lens to examine the experiences of hospital physicians in
New York City (NYC) and Seattle, the two epicenters of the US COVID-19 outbreak. Our socio-
ecological model acknowledges the synergistic relationships between health systems, work
environments, and individual wellbeing, and accounts for the complex interplay between the
multi-level factors shaping physicians' occupational health. We will conduct qualitative
interviews with physicians in NYC (n=40) and Seattle (n=40) who work at the front lines of
COVID-19 care (i.e. hospital-based attending physicians or fellows practicing in internal
medicine, family medicine, emergency medicine, infectious diseases, and pulmonary/critical
care). By sampling physicians from diverse hospitals in each city, we will assess how
differences in state and local public health responses and institutional factors mediate the way
physicians respond to the crisis. Our specific aims are to: Aim 1: Describe the relationships
among the systems-, professional-, and institutional-level factors shaping workplace conditions
during the COVID-19 pandemic and physicians' perceptions of occupational health and
wellbeing; Aim 2: Identify systems-, professional-, institutional-, and individual-level
characteristics that protect physicians' occupational health and wellbeing during the COVID-19
pandemic; Aim 3. Develop and disseminate evidence-based recommendations to protect
physicians' occupational health and wellbeing during normal and crisis conditions, with expert
panel input. The study addresses a well-documented occupational health problem that has
taken on new urgency due to the pandemic, and does so through novel attention to structural
factors that shape occupational wellbeing during a unique historical moment. The outputs of this
study include evidence-based recommendation to improve physicians' occupational health and
wellbeing and organizational responses to pandemic conditions. Therefore, the study responds
to NIOSH's Total Worker Health™ Initiative and meets NIOSH Research to Practice standards.

## Key facts

- **NIH application ID:** 10194989
- **Project number:** 1R21OH012175-01
- **Recipient organization:** UNIV OF NORTH CAROLINA CHAPEL HILL
- **Principal Investigator:** Mara Helene Buchbinder
- **Activity code:** R21 (R01, R21, SBIR, etc.)
- **Funding institute:** ALLCDC
- **Fiscal year:** 2021
- **Award amount:** $201,444
- **Award type:** 1
- **Project period:** 2021-09-01 → 2023-08-31

## Primary source

NIH RePORTER: https://reporter.nih.gov/project-details/10194989

## Citation

> US National Institutes of Health, RePORTER application 10194989, Physicians? Occupational Health During Covid-19: A Qualitative Analysis of Systems Factors (1R21OH012175-01). Retrieved via AI Analytics 2026-05-23 from https://api.ai-analytics.org/grant/nih/10194989. Licensed CC0.

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