CHALLENGE
COVID-19 spread rapidly across the world causing significant illness in many countries.
As the pandemic moved through the UK, there was concern that healthcare workers from ethnic minority
groups were at increased risk of poor outcomes. It was therefore important to understand the
differences between COVID-19 diagnosis and clinical outcomes, professional practices,
and well-being among ethnic minority healthcare workers to inform the responses and support
that we give these staff.
As we move beyond the pandemic the main challenges have shifted. Workload pressures on the
healthcare workers have been sustained. The impact of long COVID is poorly defined.
SOLUTION
To address this gap in our understanding, UK-REACH was set up to undertake a range of programmes, including recruiting 18-30,000 healthcare workers into a cohort study, to gain a comprehensive picture of the impact of COVID-19 on the physical and mental well-being of ethnic minority healthcare workers. Exploration of the sensitivities of using and linking staff data to healthcare data complement the outcomes ensuring public acceptability. The cohort is now helping us to understand sustained issues, such as the impact of Long-COVID and other post-pandemic pressures on health care workers.
OUTCOME
UK-REACH provided novel evidence on COVID-19 outcomes among ethnic minority healthcare workers and continues to inform policy to reduce risks and support improvements to the physical and mental health of health care workers. Ultimately, this will reduce health inequalities and improve the long term health outcomes of healthcare workers and the patients they care for.
Initial UK-REACH Study: The United Kingdom Research study into Ethnicity And COVID-19 outcomes in Health care workers
UK-REACH recruited 18,000 healthcare workers into a longitudinal cohort study and carried out interviews and focus groups with over 180 members of staff, to gain a comprehensive picture of the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on the physical and mental well-being of ethnic minority healthcare workers. We explored the legal and ethical sensitivities of using and linking staff data to healthcare data to complement the research and ensure public acceptability.
UK-REACH provided novel evidence on COVID-19 outcomes among ethnic minority healthcare workers to inform the development of risk reduction and support programmes through increased understanding of risk as well physical and mental health outcomes. This evidence will support continuing action to reduce health inequalities and improve the long term health outcomes of healthcare workers.
The original UK-REACH study was co-funded by the NIHR and MRC.
REACH-OUT: Caring for the healthcare workforce post-COVID-19
The REACH-OUT study continued the original aims of UK-REACH but focussed more on the prevalence and impact of long-COVID within the Health Care Work Force. Through continuation and analysis of the original UK-REACH cohort study and by carrying out additional interviews with healthcare workers, members of their support networks, and also managers within the NHS, REACH-OUT aims to estimate the prevalence of long-COVID among HCWs, characterise the syndrome, and understand the impacts of medium-term and post-acute/long-COVID illness on the mental, physical, and occupational health of diverse communities of HCWs in the UK, and their work and home lives.
REACH-OUT is funded by the NHS Race and Health Observatory.
I-CARE: Increasing retention of healthcare staff from ethnic minority groups
One of the key issues affecting health care system recovery is that the NHS has a workforce crisis. Efforts to retain staff post-pandemic - including the 24% from ethnic minority groups who make up 42% doctors and 90% of the lowest-paid nurses – are hampered by lack of information and knowledge. Staff from minoritised groups tend to have lower pay, poorer career progression and are more likely to experience harassment compared to white British staff, but we do not know precisely which groups of staff may be more likely to leave or why. We also do not know what the NHS can do to encourage them to stay.
The I-CARE study aims to help us understand why NHS staff from ethnic minority groups and/or staff who have migrated to the UK stay or leave their healthcare jobs. We will consider current policies, continue gathering data from our Healthcare worker cohort, conduct more interviews, and work with staff, patients, stakeholder groups, and policy-makers, to develop new policies and practices the NHS can use to retain more staff from minoritised groups, helping to keep staff in their jobs, reduce workload pressures, improve staff well-being, and improve patient care.
The I-CARE study is funded by NIHR.
Catching coronavirus: a doctor's story
A Specialist Registrar in Infectious Diseases tells us of his experiences of both treating and researching the disease, as well as suffering from COVID-19 himself.