Update: July 1, 2022: This important study is covered widely in the news media, including national and international outlets.

In a phenomenon that researchers are calling a “dual pandemic” because of the severity of the impact of coupled factors, a Rutgers School of Nursing research study has found that nonwhite nurses are suffering disproportionately from emotional distress, induced by a toxic stew of fears engendered by COVID-19 and reactions to workplace racism.

The work, published in Behavioral Medicine, is one of the first of its kind to quantify such effects and points to a critical need to address the issues of frontline health workers as the pandemic continues.

“We found that variations in nurses’ emotional distress were determined, in part, by direct and complex interactions among COVID worry, race and workplace racism experiences,” said the study’s lead author Charlotte Thomas-Hawkins (PhD, RN, FAAN), associate dean of nursing science and associate professor.

Additional News Coverage

• Coronavirus in NJ, NJ Spotlight News, 5-20-22
• Understaffed schools, stressful environment and pandemic pose challenges for nursing, Healio, 5-18-22
• Black nurses facing ‘dual pandemic’; COVID-19 and racism have had an impact on them, Asbury Park Press, 4-29-22
• For nurses, pandemic leaves legacy of anxiety, stress, NJ Spotlight News, 4-25-22
• ‘dual pandemic’; For Black nurses, COVID and racism have meant facing, MyCentralJersey.com, 4-23-22
• ‘dual pandemic’; For Black nurses, COVID and racism have meant facing, Daily Record (Parsippany, NJ), 4-23-22
• ‘dual pandemic’; For Black nurses, COVID and racism have meant facing, NorthJersey.com, 4-21-22
• NJ Spotlight News: April 20, 2022, NJ Spotlight News, 4-21-22
• ‘DUAL PANDEMIC’, NorthJersey.com, 4-21-22
• For Black nurses, COVID and racism have meant facing a ‘dual pandemic’, NorthJersey.com, 4-19-22
• For Black nurses, COVID and racism have meant facing a ‘dual pandemic’, The Daily Journal, 4-19-22
• For Black nurses, COVID and racism have meant facing a ‘dual pandemic’, Daily Record (Parsippany, NJ), 4-19-22
• For Black nurses, COVID and racism have meant facing a ‘dual pandemic’, Burlington County Times, 4-19-22
• For Black nurses, COVID and racism have meant facing a ‘dual pandemic’, New Jersey Herald, 4-19-22
• For Black nurses, COVID and racism have meant facing a ‘dual pandemic’, MyCentralJersey.com, 4-19-22
• For Black nurses, COVID and racism have meant facing a ‘dual pandemic’, Courier-Post, 4-19-22
• Health-care workers of color report a dual pandemic in new study by Rutgers leader, Philadelphia Inquirer, 4-13-2
• Nurses of color experience disproportionately higher levels of emotional distress during pandemic, The Daily Targum, 4-5-22
• Rutgers report cites ‘dual pandemic’ for nurses of color in NJ, WKXW-FM (Ewing, NJ), 4-4-22
• Les infirmières de couleur sont confrontées à une «double pandémie» de racisme au travail et de craintes liées au COVID – Crumpe, Crumpe, 3-29-22
• Nurses of color are battling a ‘dual pandemic’ of workplace racism and COVID fears, study says, MarketWatch, 3-28-22
• Nurses of color face a ‘dual pandemic’, Futurity, 3-25-22
• Nurses of Color to Face ‘Dual Pandemic’, Health News Digest, 3-25-22
• COVID and racism cause nurses of color to face “dual pandemic”, EurekAlert!, 3-25-22
• COVID and racism cause nurses of color to face “dual pandemic”, Patch, 3-24-22
• COVID and racism cause nurses of color to face “dual pandemic”, Newswise, 3-24-22
• COVID and racism cause nurses of color to face “dual pandemic”, UK Today News, 3-24-22
• COVID and racism cause nurses of color to face “dual pandemic”, Medical Xpress, 3-24-22
• COVID and racism cause nurses of color to face “dual pandemic”, TodayHeadline, 3-24-22
• The Growing Demand for Home Dialysis Therapies: Challenges and Potential Solutions., Nephrology Nursing Journal, 3-1-22
• Nurses share impact of pandemic on mental health at Rutgers-hosted panel, The Daily Targum, 9-27-21
• Mental Health and Health-Related Quality of Life Among Nephrology Nurses: A Survey-Based Cross-Sectional Study., Nephrology Nursing Journal, 9-1-21