Qualitative analysis of negative and positive COVID-19 experiences of frontline client educators in a Canadian maritime province

The worldwide COVID-19 pandemic dramatically shifted the ways that citizens lived, increasing rates of mental-health concerns. Frontline-worker stress escalated due to health risks while exposing workplaces ill-equipped to adapt to crises. Educators struggling with occupational stress pre-pandemic were particularly hard hit, as were healthcare and mental-health clinicians and systems. In a Canadian maritime province, we launched a longitudinal proof-of-concept study of a virtual-mental-health intervention to improve quality of life for members of a teachers' union. A vital first question was to understand these frontline educators’ lived experiences during COVID-19 prior to receiving intervention. We selected 60 frontline educators (who were actively working) as study participants from our 9-month rolling consecutive enrollment. At baseline, prior to intervention, they completed an online (Qualtrics) survey including COVID-19 exposures, stressors, and open-ended narrative questions reporting their negative and positive experiences. We reported exposures and stressors and conducted thematic qualitative analysis of their negative and positive experience narratives. During this baseline study (June 2021–March 2022), 24 (of 60) educators reported COVID-19 diagnoses in themselves/friends/family, while 1 educator reported the death of a friend. In a pre-set list of COVID-19 stressors, those most endorsed (77–88%; slight to severe distress) included four issues: 1) inability to see family, 2) and friends, 3) working in a face-to-face environment, and 4) isolation. In qualitative analyses, negative COVID-19 experiences included social isolation, mental/physical health declines, work-life imbalance, loss of major-life-transition events, parenting/caregiver burden, and professional stressors. Positive experiences included slowing down and stepping back, shifting priorities, improved wellbeing, intentional connections, practical benefits, and growth and resiliency. Many reported that COVID-19 had an unforeseen “silver lining” allowing these workers to find solace. General-population cross-sectional and longitudinal papers discuss COVID-19 distress and increasingly report positive experiences. Our study differs by examining frontline educators distressed enough to seek mental-health intervention. We find that themes of distress and resilience provide insight into these workers’ experiences and point to ways institutions could foster resilience. • Frontline Educators reported both negative and positive Covid-19 experiences. • Negative: social isolation, mental/physical health declines, work-life imbalance, loss of major-life-transition events, parenting/caregiver burden, and professional stressors • Positive: slowing down and stepping back, shifting priorities, improved wellbeing, intentional connections, practical benefits, and growth and resiliency • Resilience: access to mental health services, pauses during workday for self-care.