Insights from the front line: uplifting stories of the COVID-19 pandemic through the eyes of the public health workforce in Iowa
IntroductionSARS-CoV-2 was declared a pandemic in March 2020. Studies have characterized some of the negative impact of the pandemic on public health workers (PHW), but few have explored the strength and coping strategies used. Our study documents the experiences of PHW in Iowa during the pandemic.M...
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Frontiers Media S.A.
2025-07-01
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| Series: | Frontiers in Public Health |
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| Online Access: | https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fpubh.2025.1597941/full |
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| author | Heidi Haines Amanda Sursely Hanh Pham Rylee Beltran Daniel K. Sewell Lina Tucker Reinders Natoshia Askelson Sarah Dixon Kaitlin Emrich Christine Estle Michelle Lewis Edith Parker Jimmy Reyes Laurie Walkner Kelly Wells Sittig Rima A. Afifi |
| author_facet | Heidi Haines Amanda Sursely Hanh Pham Rylee Beltran Daniel K. Sewell Lina Tucker Reinders Natoshia Askelson Sarah Dixon Kaitlin Emrich Christine Estle Michelle Lewis Edith Parker Jimmy Reyes Laurie Walkner Kelly Wells Sittig Rima A. Afifi |
| author_sort | Heidi Haines |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | IntroductionSARS-CoV-2 was declared a pandemic in March 2020. Studies have characterized some of the negative impact of the pandemic on public health workers (PHW), but few have explored the strength and coping strategies used. Our study documents the experiences of PHW in Iowa during the pandemic.MethodsWe used an innovative mixed methods data collection tool, SenseMaker® to gather stories from PHW in Iowa between March and July 2022. Participants provided additional data about their story via structured follow-up questions. We conducted descriptive analyses of the quantitative questions. A qualitative thematic and sentiment analysis was applied to all stories.ResultsThe final sample size was 163 stories. PHW who submitted stories identified as mostly white (93.9%), and women (83.4%). Respondents were most likely to feel that in the story they told: the ability to act was out of their control; the strongest influence was from political considerations; decisions were made out of necessity; they wished for more focus on evidence-based public health. PHW were most likely to describe their emotional state at the height of the pandemic as frustration (61%), uncertainty (55%), and helplessness (50%). Those who felt in control were more likely to express positive emotions. Qualitative thematic analysis of these stories revealed 8 themes, highlighting facilitators (e.g., strong partnerships and collaborations) and barriers (e.g., politicization and controversial government response) to effective pandemic response.DiscussionThe stories PHW shared powerfully illustrate the context of the pandemic in Iowa, a state that spent the least time under high stringency policies. |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj-art-026a5ac2f8524e629f1da0f29285bb4a |
| institution | DOAJ |
| issn | 2296-2565 |
| language | English |
| publishDate | 2025-07-01 |
| publisher | Frontiers Media S.A. |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Frontiers in Public Health |
| spelling | doaj-art-026a5ac2f8524e629f1da0f29285bb4a2025-08-20T03:14:02ZengFrontiers Media S.A.Frontiers in Public Health2296-25652025-07-011310.3389/fpubh.2025.15979411597941Insights from the front line: uplifting stories of the COVID-19 pandemic through the eyes of the public health workforce in IowaHeidi Haines0Amanda Sursely1Hanh Pham2Rylee Beltran3Daniel K. Sewell4Lina Tucker Reinders5Natoshia Askelson6Sarah Dixon7Kaitlin Emrich8Christine Estle9Michelle Lewis10Edith Parker11Jimmy Reyes12Laurie Walkner13Kelly Wells Sittig14Rima A. Afifi15College of Public Health, University of Iowa, Iowa City, IA, United StatesCollege of Public Health, University of Iowa, Iowa City, IA, United StatesCollege of Public Health, University of Iowa, Iowa City, IA, United StatesCollege of Public Health, University of Iowa, Iowa City, IA, United StatesCollege of Public Health, University of Iowa, Iowa City, IA, United StatesIowa Public Health Association, Des Moines, IA, United StatesCollege of Public Health, University of Iowa, Iowa City, IA, United StatesIowa Primary Care Association, Des Moines, IA, United StatesBlack Hawk County Public Health, Waterloo, IA, United StatesJefferson County Public Health, Fairfield, IA, United StatesSiouxland District Health Department, Sioux City, IA, United StatesCollege of Public Health, University of Iowa, Iowa City, IA, United StatesDepartment of Nursing & Public Health, College of Social & Behavioral Sciences, University of Northern Iowa, Cedar Falls, IA, United StatesCollege of Public Health, University of Iowa, Iowa City, IA, United StatesIowa Cancer Consortium, Coralville, IA, United StatesCollege of Public Health, University of Iowa, Iowa City, IA, United StatesIntroductionSARS-CoV-2 was declared a pandemic in March 2020. Studies have characterized some of the negative impact of the pandemic on public health workers (PHW), but few have explored the strength and coping strategies used. Our study documents the experiences of PHW in Iowa during the pandemic.MethodsWe used an innovative mixed methods data collection tool, SenseMaker® to gather stories from PHW in Iowa between March and July 2022. Participants provided additional data about their story via structured follow-up questions. We conducted descriptive analyses of the quantitative questions. A qualitative thematic and sentiment analysis was applied to all stories.ResultsThe final sample size was 163 stories. PHW who submitted stories identified as mostly white (93.9%), and women (83.4%). Respondents were most likely to feel that in the story they told: the ability to act was out of their control; the strongest influence was from political considerations; decisions were made out of necessity; they wished for more focus on evidence-based public health. PHW were most likely to describe their emotional state at the height of the pandemic as frustration (61%), uncertainty (55%), and helplessness (50%). Those who felt in control were more likely to express positive emotions. Qualitative thematic analysis of these stories revealed 8 themes, highlighting facilitators (e.g., strong partnerships and collaborations) and barriers (e.g., politicization and controversial government response) to effective pandemic response.DiscussionThe stories PHW shared powerfully illustrate the context of the pandemic in Iowa, a state that spent the least time under high stringency policies.https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fpubh.2025.1597941/fullCOVID-19public health workforceSenseMakermixed-methodsrural healthmental health |
| spellingShingle | Heidi Haines Amanda Sursely Hanh Pham Rylee Beltran Daniel K. Sewell Lina Tucker Reinders Natoshia Askelson Sarah Dixon Kaitlin Emrich Christine Estle Michelle Lewis Edith Parker Jimmy Reyes Laurie Walkner Kelly Wells Sittig Rima A. Afifi Insights from the front line: uplifting stories of the COVID-19 pandemic through the eyes of the public health workforce in Iowa Frontiers in Public Health COVID-19 public health workforce SenseMaker mixed-methods rural health mental health |
| title | Insights from the front line: uplifting stories of the COVID-19 pandemic through the eyes of the public health workforce in Iowa |
| title_full | Insights from the front line: uplifting stories of the COVID-19 pandemic through the eyes of the public health workforce in Iowa |
| title_fullStr | Insights from the front line: uplifting stories of the COVID-19 pandemic through the eyes of the public health workforce in Iowa |
| title_full_unstemmed | Insights from the front line: uplifting stories of the COVID-19 pandemic through the eyes of the public health workforce in Iowa |
| title_short | Insights from the front line: uplifting stories of the COVID-19 pandemic through the eyes of the public health workforce in Iowa |
| title_sort | insights from the front line uplifting stories of the covid 19 pandemic through the eyes of the public health workforce in iowa |
| topic | COVID-19 public health workforce SenseMaker mixed-methods rural health mental health |
| url | https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fpubh.2025.1597941/full |
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