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Study Objectives: The mental health of physicians is a key issue during the recovery phase of natural and human-made disasters (NHD) During NHDs, physicians must work within devastated health care infrastructures Profoundly limited and strained resources and surges in acute and chronic care patients lead to prolonged, intense exposure to death, injury, and destruction Physicians face a triple threat during NHDs - they are exposed to the NHD, are responsible for providing emergent and ongoing care to their community and must cope with complex decisions of delivering care or moving to safe spaces to protect themselves and their families In non-NHD settings, 54 4% of physicians suffer from burnout This adversely impacts physician wellbeing, job performance and may result in decreased quality of patient care NHDs have the potential to exacerbate this effect While federal law mandates that health care facilities have emergency operation plans in place for disaster preparedness, the accessibility of mental health resources to physicians in these settings has not been characterized The objective of this study was to examine emergency medicine (EM) and trauma physician knowledge of and access to mental health resources at their institutions during and after NHDs Methods: Between February 4, 2020 and March 9, 2020, researchers conducted a national survey among EM and trauma physicians The survey was developed based on an emergency preparedness questionnaire created by researchers at Harvard T H Chan School of Public Health in 2015 Our survey was distributed electronically to the members of the American College of Emergency Physicians (ACEP) and the American Association of the Surgery of Trauma (AAST) The 17-question survey collected information on EM and Trauma surgeon awareness and access to emergency preparedness resources at their institutions Results: Of those who participated in the survey (n = 230), 80% were white, 75% were male, 80% were greater than 10 years out of graduate training and 76% worked in a trauma center 85% of responders were aware of a written emergency response plan for their facility and 51% were aware of ACEP and AAST disaster preparedness guidelines 20% of responders knew if their institutional emergency response plan included policies that addressed physician mental health needs during and after an NHD In addition, 31% were aware of the hospital’s mental health policies and resources outside the emergency response plan;only 25% knew how to access these resources during and after an NHD Finally, 10% reported incorporation of these mental health resources during emergency preparedness practice drills at their institution Conclusion: In a survey administered to physicians in the period immediately prior to the COVID-19 outbreak in the US, the majority of physicians reported knowledge of emergency preparedness policies;however, significant gaps remain in physician knowledge and access to mental health resources during and after an NHD As the frequency and severity of NHDs rapidly increase on a global scale, it is critical for health systems to ensure accessible infrastructure and resources to support the mental wellbeing of health professionals In addition, physicians should be extensively and repeatedly educated regarding the existence of these resources and how to access them during or after an NHD
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