The impact of social and structural support on anxiety among academics in health professions fields

Academic faculty in the health professions are especially susceptible to anxiety-inducing factors as a consequence of their demanding professional lives. The COVID-19 pandemic placed special attention on the experiences of anxiety and stress among health professionals and academics; however, there is a lack of studies of the impact of specific types of social modifiers of anxiety in health professions faculty. To address this critical gap, we administered the Generalized Anxiety Disorder (GAD-7) questionnaire to 549 self-identified academic faculty in health professions. Of those surveyed, 8.1% reported severe levels of anxiety and 19.6% reported moderate levels, totaling 27.7% with moderate-to-severe symptoms. Our results revealed that academic rank significantly predicted anxiety levels, with assistant professors (both tenure-track and non-tenure track) experiencing significantly higher anxiety than associate and full professors or adjunct or part-time faculty. Age demonstrated strong protective effects, while women and gender minorities reported elevated anxiety levels compared to men. Having close family relationships and academic parents were both associated with significantly lower anxiety, while spouse occupation in non-academic sectors provided protective effects. Social responsibilities of having children or larger family size did not significantly impact anxiety levels. Our results showed that post-pandemic anxiety levels remain notable and potentially impairing among academic health professionals, and that structural and social supports, and demographic factors can act as buffers against anxiety. Our study can inform future efforts by institutions to support academic health professional faculty mental health.