COVID-19 Effects on Front-line Health Care Providers
As a leading provider of health care in our community, we know the reliability of the health care system is a critical component in the fight against new pandemics. To have an effective health care infrastructure, it is critical to have a healthy workforce.
Norton Infectious Diseases Institute is leading a groundbreaking research study to gain a clearer understanding of short- and long-term effects of COVID-19 on front-line health care workers during a global pandemic. This research is paramount to be able to properly support providers across our system of more than 16,500 employees and in the future to evaluate the effects of interventions such as vaccination.
Since COVID-19 is a multisystem disease, this effort seeks to study the short- and long-term impact of COVID-19 and its presumed effects on the physical and mental health of health care workers.
Study Basics
120 front-line Norton Healthcare employees — 30 who have tested COVID-19 positive, 90 who have tested negative at the time of entering the study
Study period is 13 months.
All study subjects will complete baseline labs at the beginning of the study, and six-month and 12-month labs at Norton Healthcare Employee Health locations. A series of baseline, six-month and 12-month psychological assessments will be completed at the University of Louisville School of Medicine Division of Infectious Diseases. Psychological assessments will be conducted to measure in the following areas:
- Anxiety
- Depression
- Physical activity
- Post-traumatic stress disorders
A Team Rooted in Robust Research Experience
Norton Healthcare and the UofL Center of Excellence for Research in Infectious Diseases (CERID) have created a research team that brings its expertise to this study. Together these organizations have long and successful histories of conducting groundbreaking population health research that has benefited this community and impacted outcomes nationally.
While many health care organizations locally and nationally were furloughing staff both in clinical and nonclinical positions during the COVID-19 pandemic, Norton Healthcare invested heavily in the health and well-being of its employees through resources and serving as an early adopter of streamlined COVID-19 testing through our testing partnership with the UofL School of Medicine Division of Infectious Diseases. Through this study, Norton Healthcare seeks to continue to create innovative, best-in-class standards, protocols and resources for health care workers to strengthen our field during this pandemic and any we face in the future.
Research Team
Paul S. Schulz, M.D.
Principal Investigator
Medical Director, Norton Infectious Diseases Institute
Julio Ramirez, M.D., FACP
Subinvestigator
Division Chief, UofL School of Medicine Division of Infectious Diseases
Ashley Wilde, Pharm.D., BCPS-AQ ID
Subinvestigator
Norton Infectious Diseases Institute
Ruth Carrico, Ph.D., FSHEA, APRN, CIC
UofL School of Medicine Division of Infectious Diseases
Laura Guy
Project Manager, Norton Healthcare
Michelle Rose
Project Manager, Norton Healthcare
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