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According to a study funded by the National Institutes of Health (NIH) and published in the journal PLOS ONE, minorities and women working as nurses and other supportive roles in healthcare have faced significant work disruptions during the COVID-19 pandemic.

The study is the first of its kind to focus on the experiences of healthcare workers serving underserved communities during the pandemic. While nurses and doctors are the most recognized frontline workers in the industry, other roles, including housekeeping and catering staff, make up nearly 7 million people, the majority of whom are women, black and Hispanic, and they live in the communities where they serve.

Researchers interviewed minority women in supportive healthcare roles in hospitals, nursing homes and home care facilities in four New Jersey counties with high rates of COVID-19 infection and death. Has found :

• The pandemic has disrupted workers' responsibilities and roles. Concerns ranged from changing roles, working longer hours and learning new technology to changes in safety protocol and lack of personal protective equipment (PPE).
• The workers faced irregularities in the tests; Some reported frequent testing, while others did not have to take the tests. Many have taken it upon themselves to prove themselves to protect their families.
• Workers have experienced fear and uncertainty, including concerns about catching COVID-19 and passing it on to their families, or losing their jobs or part of their income. They also expressed concern about notifying their employers of possible exposure and the resulting stigma among employees after testing positive.
• Skepticism and worker choices about vaccines have evolved over time. Initial concerns about vaccines ranged from questions about side effects, trial data and experiences of failed public health interventions in minorities. Those opposed to vaccination said their views changed after seeing their colleagues being vaccinated and after receiving vaccine data from reliable sources. Workers also raised concerns about vaccination requirements and the impact on their current jobs.

"Our findings illustrate the critical need for health systems to allocate resources to improve the working conditions of this marginalized workforce, including the provision of resources that support resilience and address wages, physical conditions and mental demands, health, safety and well-being to help in their roles to remain," said study author Zorimar Rivera-Núñez, an assistant professor at Rutgers School of Public Health in Piscataway, New Jersey.

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