Psychological trauma: understanding risk, building resilience during a public health crisis

Purpose COVID-19 was a global outbreak with long-term consequences. This paper aims to consider protective and vulnerability factors of psychological trauma and moral injury in frontline workers and their families during public health crises (COVID-19) and how resilience can mitigate impact. Design/methodology/approach Study one included interviews with 21 family members of frontline workers and 11 frontline workers. Study two determined the severity of psychological trauma and moral injury, as well as the role of resilience in 203 participants (Frontline workers, n = 98; Families, n = 105). Findings Thematic analysis of Study one highlighted several promotive and protective factors of psychological trauma, moral injury and resilience. Study two explored this in more detail in frontline workers and their families, noting that they experienced moderate levels of moral injury and psychological trauma. Moderate levels of resilience emerged, positively predicted by subjective well-being. Moral injury was found to have a causal effect on psychological trauma via resilience. Originality/value Findings culminated in the development of a conceptual model – the Health Crisis Impact Model (HCIM), which proposes a two-way inter-connected pathway, identifying the impact of stressors specific to public health crises on frontline workers and their families, as well as the protective factors of resilience and how these can promote the development of resilience.