(PS5-C64) Two-year Utilization Patterns of a Mental Health Support Service for Healthcare Workers Delivered by Lay Professionals

Background: The COVID-19 pandemic demonstrated an increased need for mental health support for healthcare workers, who experienced unprecedented increases in stress and burnout. Given scarce resources for professional mental health providers, many health systems developed mental health and wellness programs delivered by lay health professionals.  Such programs can address the need for mental health support while preserving the limited professional mental health force for those with the highest acuity. Understanding utilization patterns of these lower-tier supports is critical to optimizing such programs.

Objectives: We examined rates of service use over time by members of a large healthcare system in the first 24 months (March 2020-March 2022) of a novel lay health program – Coping First Aid (CFA) – launched by Penn Medicine at the outset of the COVID-19 pandemic. CFA was developed alongside a suite of wellness resources, grounded in principles of psychological first aid, brief problem solving, and therapeutic micro-skills techniques. We also examined how CFA service volume varied relative to local COVID-19 case counts in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, and other major world news events (e.g., racial reckonings, political milestones).

Methods: We leveraged ongoing program evaluation data to examine service utilization by month in the first two years of the program. We then examined how service volume varied as a function of the peaks of published pandemic case counts in Philadelphia County and other national and world events.

Results: Between March 2020 and March 2022, there were 492 sessions completed by 262 individuals in CFA with 33 different Resilience Coaches. Monthly variation indicated highest program usage in June (n=53) and July of 2020 (n=45), January of 2021 (n=31), and July of 2021 (n=36). Lowest utilization occurred in September (n=8), October (n=10), November (n=10) and December (n=10) of 2021. Preliminary analysis suggests that service volume tended to increase following (but not during) a COVID peak (e.g., original, Alpha, and Omicron variants). Spikes in service use also occurred immediately following major political events (e.g., the murder of George Floyd and the 2021 U.S. Capitol Attack).

Conclusions: Results help us understand how a wellness program staffed by lay counselors was utilized during a two-year public health emergency. Findings suggest that service use varied in relation to COVID-19 cases, such that healthcare workers may be more likely to use wellness supports when public health needs are lower (e.g., when they have more time to seek out personal resources). Findings also suggest high usage in the aftermath of major world news events. While preliminary, findings raise questions about how to optimally deploy wellness supports during peaks of a public health crisis. Implications and directions for future research will be discussed.