Subjective Wellbeing and Absenteeism of Healthcare Workers During the COVID-19 Pandemic: A Longitudinal Study

Background: The COVID-19 pandemic is a crisis situation that became chronic and has potentially led to long-term consequences over the past several years, and for years to come. While experts have warned against the pandemic burden on healthcare workers early on, little is known on the evolution of this burden with time and with successive waves, additionally to the long-term effects of post-COVID symptoms in healthcare workers.Methods: Healthcare workers at the Geneva University Hospitals in Geneva, Switzerland had an online follow-up in July and December 2021, collecting data on their physical and mental health, quality of life and functional capacity using validated scales. Descriptive analyses compared the prevalence of symptoms, functional impairment and quality of life in SARS-CoV-2 positive and negative individuals at baseline and at follow-up.Findings: Out of the initial n=3,083 participants that had answered at baseline in July 2021, n=900 completed the follow-up in December 2021. Participants had a mean age of 46.4 (standard deviation, SD 10.5) years, 70.1% were women, and 46.7% had no pre-existing comorbidities.Overall, n=489 (54.3%) of participants reported at least one symptom at baseline compared to n=616 (68.4%) at follow-up with an overall higher prevalence of symptoms in SARS-CoV-2 positive individuals. At follow-up, more individuals reported fatigue (+9.4%), headache (+9.0%), insomnia (+2.3%), cognitive impairment (+1.4%), stress/burnout (+8.8%), pain (+8.3%), digestive symptoms (+3.6%), dyspnea (+1.0%), and cough (+7.7%) compared to baseline, with a differentially larger increase in symptoms in the SARS-CoV-2 negative group. Individuals had more functional impairment (12.7% at baseline and 23.9% at follow-up), with more absenteeism and worsening quality of life.Interpretation: Healthcare workers have an increased prevalence of symptoms related to the pandemic in general and post-COVID. Symptoms are manifested by fatigue, headache, insomnia, cognitive impairment and stress/burnout, and are associated with an increased functional impairment, absenteeism and worsening quality of life. This calls for an urgent look into the overall state and well-being of healthcare workers, along with potential solutions.Funding Information: This study is funded by the Private Foundation at the Geneva University Hospitals and the Leenaards Foundation.Declaration of Interests: There are no potential conflicts of interest related to this work.Ethics Approval Statement All individuals gave consent and the study was approved by the Cantonal Research Ethics Commission of Geneva, Switzerland (protocol number 2021–00931).