COVID-19 CHAMPS Study of Healthcare, First Responder and Service Workers

The objective of the US COVID-19 CHAMPS Study is to assess the short- and long-term physical, social and behavioral health of all who were involved in supporting or delivering care for COVID-19 patients. Included are first responders, maintenance and support staff as well as healthcare professionals of all specialties and services. Initially the study will obtain data on the working environment and emotional and physical health. Additional data will be obtained on self-management, response strategies, effects on family, social and personal life and careers. This well-characterized cohort of workers will enable characterization of the health and social effects of their service, and prospective research on their future physical and mental health. It will also serve as a registry for future, hypothesis-driven sub-studies of behavioral and biological coping mechanisms and allostatic load, as well as randomized clinical trials. Participants will be recruited throughout the United States and its territories (Puerto Rico, Guam, the US Virgin Islands) with outcomes followed longitudinally for twenty years. Initial analysis will be descriptive and include computation of frequency distributions, adjusted odds ratios and 95% confidence intervals. Multiple logistic regression methods will be used to assess association of health symptoms or conditions with estimates of exposure to COVID-19. Psychological distress will be estimated from self-reported responses to validated psychological instruments and survey items created to capture the unique aspects of exposure to COVID-19 in workplace settings. Odds rations will be adjusted for sex, age, race/ethnicity and job classification. The logistic regression model(s) will include self-reported baseline health status and other variables. Preliminary explorations of variable associations will be performed to aid with the development of sub-studies from the registry. No direct health benefits are anticipated for participating in the study, but participants may learn about their health. Participation in the study provides the participants the opportunity to express the impact of responding to the COVID-19 pandemic on their health, which may be a source of relief. Participants may feel satisfaction about sharing information about their experiences that may help healthcare systems to plan for future health-related emergencies.