A look at the complete USA TODAY/Ipsos' exclusive poll of health care workers
This month, USA TODAY and Ipsos conducted a poll of over 1,000 health care workers, asking about how the coronavirus pandemic has affected their work and personal lives, their opinion on the federal government's response and what the future outlook of their career looks like, among other topics.
Those surveyed included doctors and dentists, registered and licensed nurses, nurse practitioners, paramedics, physician assistants, home health aides, therapists, technicians, dental hygienists and others who work in hospitals, doctors' offices, nursing homes, clinics, patients' homes and elsewhere.
THE FINDINGS:
►Angry and abused, health care workers still overwhelmingly love careers, poll shows
►Health care workers split on Biden, want better pay and more key takeaways
Below is the topline and methodology.
A survey of the American general population (ages 18+)
Conducted by Ipsos using KnowledgePanel®
Interview dates: Feb. 9-16, 2022
Number of interviews: 1,170
Margin of error: +/-3.8 percentage points at the 95% confidence level
NOTE: All results show percentages among all respondents, unless otherwise labeled. Reduced bases are unweighted values.
NOTE: * = less than 0.5%, - = no respondents
Annotated Questionnaire
S2. In your current job, what kind of work do you do? We appreciate your effort to pick a type of work using these U.S. Census Bureau categories even though they might not match perfectly.
1. Which of the following best describes your primary professional work setting?
2. Does your work involve direct contact with patients or their bodily fluids, or not?
3. Do you think the COVID-19 outbreak in the United States is completely under control, mostly under control, somewhat under control or not at all under control?
4. In their daily lives, do you think most Americans are taking enough precautions to prevent the spread of COVID-19, or not?
5. Do you approve or disapprove of how the following have responded to the COVID-19 pandemic?
Total Approve Summary
a. The Biden Administration
b. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention
c. The American public
d. American news media
e. Your employer
6. Do you support or oppose the following?
Total Support Summary
a. The federal government mailing free at-home COVID-19 tests to anyone who wants one
b. The federal government providing N95 masks to anyone that wants one through pharmacies and health clinics
c. The federal government deploying military health personnel to support hospitals
d. The federal government directing the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) to work with hospitals to increase bed capacity
7. How satisfied are you with your current job?
8. Would you say you feel the following about going to work these days, or not?
Total Yes Summary
a. Anxious
b. Hopeful
c. Angry
d. Optimistic
e. Burned out
f. Motivated
9. Do you agree or disagree with the following statements?
Total Agree Summary
a. American health care workers have done an amazing job during the COVID-19 pandemic
b. I am likely to leave the health care field in the near future
c. I love working in health care
d. The American health care system is on the verge of collapse
e. If I could pick a career all over again, I would still decide to go into health care
f. Politics is making job harder
10. Has worry or stress related to the COVID-19 pandemic caused you to experience the following in the past two months, or not?
Total Yes Summary
a. Trouble sleeping or sleeping too much
b. Frequent headaches or stomach aches
c. Increased alcohol or drug use
d. Irritability or short temper
11. Would you support or oppose your employer requiring all employees who work with patients to become vaccinated?
12. Do you support or oppose your employer firing employees who refuse to get vaccinated and work with patients?
13. Thinking about the way your employer is responding to the COVID-19 pandemic, when it comes to the following, would you say your employer is going above and beyond, doing about the right amount, or falling short?
a. Providing additional pay for employees who are working in the most high-risk situations
b. Providing paid sick leave for employees who have COVID-19
c. Ensuring employees have the ability to get vaccinated
d. Ensuring there is enough medical staff during surges
e. Providing staff mental health support
14. As part of your work, have you treated or provided assistance to a COVID-19 patient, or not?
15. Have you treated COVID-19 patients who were unvaccinated?
Base: Treated or provided assistance to a COVID-19 patient
16. Among the unvaccinated COVID-19 patients who you provide treatment or assistance to, have any done any of the following? Select all that apply.
Base: Treated or provided assistance to an unvaccinated COVID-19 patient
17. Did any of the patients you were providing treatment or assistance to die as a result of COVID-19?
Base: Treated or provided assistance to a COVID-19 patient
18. Have you personally received at least one dose of the COVID-19 vaccine?
19. At any point since 2020, have you tested positive for COVID-19? Select all that apply.
20. Which of these is your main source of news?
21. If you voted in the 2020 presidential election, who did you vote for?
About the Study
This poll was conducted Feb. 9-16, 2022, by Ipsos using the probability-based KnowledgePanel®. This poll is based on a nationally representative probability sample of 1,170 health care workers age 18 or older.
The margin of sampling error is plus or minus 3.8 percentage points at the 95% confidence level, for results based on the entire sample of healthcare workers. The margin of sampling error takes into account the design effect, which was 1.72. The margin of sampling error is higher and varies for results based on other sub-samples. In our reporting of the findings, percentage points are rounded off to the nearest whole number. As a result, percentages in a given table column may total slightly higher or lower than 100%. In questions that permit multiple responses, columns may total substantially more than 100%, depending on the number of different responses offered by each respondent.
The survey was conducted using KnowledgePanel, the largest and most well-established online probability-based panel that is representative of the adult US population. Our recruitment process employs an addressed-based sampling methodology using the latest Delivery Sequence File of the USPS – a database with full coverage of all delivery points in the US. Households invited to join the panel are randomly selected from all available households in the U.S. Persons in the sampled households are invited to join and participate in the panel. Those selected who do not already have internet access are provided a tablet and internet connection at no cost to the panel member. Those who join the panel and who are selected to participate in a survey are sent a unique password-protected log-in used to complete surveys online. As a result of our recruitment and sampling methodologies, samples from KnowledgePanel cover all households regardless of their phone or internet status and findings can be reported with a margin of sampling error and projected to the general population.
The data were weighted to adjust for gender by age, race/ethnicity, education, Census region, metropolitan status, household income, and healthcare worker category. The demographic benchmarks for healthcare workers came from the 2021 March supplement of the U.S. Census Bureau’s Current Population Survey (CPS) based on the current occupation variable in the CPS. The weighting categories were as follows:
- Gender (Male, Female) by Age (18–34, 35-44, 45-59 and 60+)
- Race/Hispanic Ethnicity (White Non-Hispanic, Black Non-Hispanic, Other or 2+ Races Non-Hispanic, Hispanic)
- Education (Some College or below, Bachelor, Master and beyond)
- Census Region (Northeast, Midwest, South, West)
- Metropolitan status (Metro, Non-Metro)
- Household Income (Under $50,000, $50,000-$74,999, $75,000-$99,999, $100,000-$149,999, $150,000+)
- Healthcare Worker Category (Nurse, Physician or equivalent, Other Healthcare Worker)
About Ipsos
Ipsos is the world’s third largest Insights and Analytics company, present in 90 markets and employing more than 18,000 people.
Our passionately curious research professionals, analysts and scientists have built unique multi-specialist capabilities that provide true understanding and powerful insights into the actions, opinions and motivations of citizens, consumers, patients, customers or employees. We serve more than 5000 clients across the world with 75 business solutions.
Founded in France in 1975, Ipsos is listed on the Euronext Paris since July 1st, 1999. The company is part of the SBF 120 and the Mid-60 index and is eligible for the Deferred Settlement Service (SRD).