Category: System Stakeholder Issues
Melanie Hetzel-Riggin, Ph.D.
Professor of Psychology
Penn State Behrend
Erie, Pennsylvania
Tonya Hansel, Ph.D., MSW
Tulane University
New Orleans, Louisiana
Melanie Hetzel-Riggin, Ph.D.
Professor of Psychology
Penn State Behrend
Erie, Pennsylvania
Jess Bonnan-White, Ph.D.
Stockton University
Galloway, New Jersey
Marisa Berner, PhD
The Pennsylvania State University
Erie, Pennsylvania
Ashley Sullivan, Ph.D., MSW
Penn State Erie, The Behrend College
Erie, Pennsylvania
The novel coronavirus pandemic was disastrous in many ways—including global infection rates and death rates in the millions; isolation practices to decrease the spread of the virus that decimated our economy; learning loss suffered by students due to a rapid and unorganized shift to online learning; and increased rates of mental health distress and violence. Extensive research has demonstrated both the acute (Osofsky et al., 2020; Sneed et al., 2020) and long-lasting (Abrams et al., 2022; Banerjee & Kosagisharaf, 2021) negative impact the pandemic and our underdeveloped systemic response to the pandemic as left in their wake.Â
One group of people that were particularly impacted were front-line workers (Gupta & Sahoo, 2020). Front line workers experienced pandemic-related stress but were also the lynchpins that kept society functioning during the unprecedented shutdowns. While research has provided solid information on the experience of healthcare professionals (e.g., Billing et al., 2021; Busch et al., 2021), little is known about the experiences of non-health care front line workers, such as teachers, social service providers, or law enforcement officers. Members of these professions were initially lauded as heroes, but as the pandemic continued and other systemic crises rose (civil unrest around systemic racism, supply chain problems, underfunded education systems, etc.) many were rebranded as villains by the news media. Systemic failures at the organizational and community level added additional strain to the members of these professions, the aftereffects of which will be felt for years to come.
This symposium will describe the experiences of non-healthcare front line workers and provide suggestions for service provision and systemic change to address these concerns. The first presentation will describe the challenges faced by members of a rural domestic violence coordinated community response team to pandemic, including barriers to service provision, communication with other providers, and their own fears related to pandemic-related infection and isolation. In the second talk, we will provide data on police officers collected at the beginning of the pandemic about how their reactions to the pandemic, such as fear of public interaction, disengagement from professional duties, and negative coping behaviors can be understood through the lens of emergency management phases. In the third talk, the presenters will provide data collected from law enforcement officers two years after the beginning of the pandemic that describe how institutional betrayal, moral injury, and posttraumatic cognitions are related to pandemic-related stress. Our final talk will elucidate the experiences of K-12 educators regarding stress, burnout, anxiety, and pandemic-related stress considering their levels of institutional betrayal and provide suggestions for improving education and support for school personnel. The discussant will offer suggestions regarding systemic improvements to help support non-healthcare front line workers during future emergencies, both through better mental health intervention strategies as well as structural systemic change.
Presenter: Melanie D. Hetzel-Riggin, Ph.D. – Penn State Behrend
Presenter: Jess Bonnan-White, Ph.D. – Stockton University
Co-author: Anna Kosloski, Ph.D. – University of Colorado-Colorado Springs
Co-author: Matthew Lunn, Ph.D. – University of Colorado-Colorado Springs
Presenter: Marisa S. Berner, PhD – The Pennsylvania State University
Co-author: Melanie D. Hetzel-Riggin, Ph.D. – Penn State Behrend
Presenter: Ashley L. Sullivan, Ph.D., MSW – Penn State Erie, The Behrend College
Co-author: Melanie D. Hetzel-Riggin, Ph.D. – Penn State Behrend