TY - JOUR
T1 - Ethnic inequalities among NHS staff in England
T2 - workplace experiences during the COVID-19 pandemic
AU - Rhead, Rebecca
AU - Harber-Aschan, Lisa
AU - Onwumere, Juliana
AU - Polling, Catherine
AU - Dorrington, Sarah
AU - Ehsan, Annahita
AU - Stevelink, Sharon A.M.
AU - Khunti, Kamlesh
AU - Mir, Ghazala
AU - Morriss, Richard
AU - Wessely, Simon
AU - Woodhead, Charlotte
AU - Hatch, Stephani
N1 - Funding Information:
This work was supported by Wellcome (203380/Z/16/Z) and the Economic and Social Research Council (ES/V009931/1). RR acknowledges funding from the Medical Research Council (MR/W021277/1). CW and SH are partly supported by the Economic and Social Research Council (ESRC) Centre for Society and Mental Health at King’s College London (ES/S012567/1). SH is also part supported by the National Institute for Health and Care Research (NIHR) Maudsley Biomedical Research Centre at South London and Maudsley NHS Foundation Trust and King’s College London. SAMS is supported by the National Institute for Health and Care Research (NIHR) Maudsley Biomedical Research Centre at South London and Maudsley NHS Foundation Trust and the National Institute for Health and Care Research,NIHR Advanced Fellowship (NIHR300592). CP is supported by an NIHR Clinical Lectureship. KK is supported by NIHR ARC East Midlands. The views expressed in this publication are those of the author(s) and not necessarily those of the ESRC, Wellcome, NHS, the NIHR or the Department of Health and Social Care.
Publisher Copyright:
© Author(s) (or their employer(s)) 2024.
PY - 2024/2/20
Y1 - 2024/2/20
N2 - Objectives: This study aims to determine how workplace experiences of National Health Service (NHS) staff varied by ethnicity during the COVID-19 pandemic and how these experiences are associated with mental and physical health at the time of the study. Methods: An online Inequalities Survey was conducted by the Tackling Inequalities and Discrimination Experiences in Health Services study in collaboration with NHS CHECK. This Inequalities Survey collected measures relating to workplace experiences (such as personal protective equipment (PPE), risk assessments, redeployments and discrimination) as well as mental health (Patient Health Questionnaire (PHQ-9), Generalised Anxiety Disorder 7 (GAD-7)), and physical health (PHQ-15) from NHS staff working in the 18 trusts participating with the NHS CHECK study between February and October 2021 (N=4622). Results: Regression analysis of this cross-sectional data revealed that staff from black and mixed/other ethnic groups had greater odds of experiencing workplace harassment (adjusted OR (AOR) 2.43 (95% CI 1.56 to 3.78) and 2.38 (95% CI 1.12 to 5.07), respectively) and discrimination (AOR 4.36 (95% CI 2.73 to 6.96) and 3.94 (95% CI 1.67 to 9.33), respectively) compared with white British staff. Staff from black ethnic groups also had greater odds than white British staff of reporting PPE unavailability (AOR 2.16 (95% CI 1.16 to 4.00)). Such workplace experiences were associated with negative physical and mental health outcomes, though this association varied by ethnicity. Conversely, understanding employment rights around redeployment, being informed about and having the ability to inform redeployment decisions were associated with lower odds of poor physical and mental health. Conclusions: Structural changes to the way staff from ethnically minoritised groups are supported, and how their complaints are addressed by leaders within the NHS are urgently required.
AB - Objectives: This study aims to determine how workplace experiences of National Health Service (NHS) staff varied by ethnicity during the COVID-19 pandemic and how these experiences are associated with mental and physical health at the time of the study. Methods: An online Inequalities Survey was conducted by the Tackling Inequalities and Discrimination Experiences in Health Services study in collaboration with NHS CHECK. This Inequalities Survey collected measures relating to workplace experiences (such as personal protective equipment (PPE), risk assessments, redeployments and discrimination) as well as mental health (Patient Health Questionnaire (PHQ-9), Generalised Anxiety Disorder 7 (GAD-7)), and physical health (PHQ-15) from NHS staff working in the 18 trusts participating with the NHS CHECK study between February and October 2021 (N=4622). Results: Regression analysis of this cross-sectional data revealed that staff from black and mixed/other ethnic groups had greater odds of experiencing workplace harassment (adjusted OR (AOR) 2.43 (95% CI 1.56 to 3.78) and 2.38 (95% CI 1.12 to 5.07), respectively) and discrimination (AOR 4.36 (95% CI 2.73 to 6.96) and 3.94 (95% CI 1.67 to 9.33), respectively) compared with white British staff. Staff from black ethnic groups also had greater odds than white British staff of reporting PPE unavailability (AOR 2.16 (95% CI 1.16 to 4.00)). Such workplace experiences were associated with negative physical and mental health outcomes, though this association varied by ethnicity. Conversely, understanding employment rights around redeployment, being informed about and having the ability to inform redeployment decisions were associated with lower odds of poor physical and mental health. Conclusions: Structural changes to the way staff from ethnically minoritised groups are supported, and how their complaints are addressed by leaders within the NHS are urgently required.
KW - COVID-19
KW - Ethnic Groups
KW - Health services research
KW - Mental Health
KW - Occupational Health
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=85185926810&partnerID=8YFLogxK
U2 - 10.1136/oemed-2023-108976
DO - 10.1136/oemed-2023-108976
M3 - Article
C2 - 38378264
AN - SCOPUS:85185926810
SN - 1351-0711
VL - 81
SP - 113
EP - 121
JO - Occupational and Environmental Medicine
JF - Occupational and Environmental Medicine
IS - 3
M1 - oemed-2023-108976
ER -
