TABLE 4.

Open-Ended Question in All-Employee Survey: Harassment or Verbal Aggression Outside of Work. Response Themes With Descriptions and Example Responses

	Description	Example Response(s)
Verbal aggression and harassment	Both in-person and online; especially due to fear of transmission and especially when wearing any indicator of healthcare profession	“People insulting my workplace and myself” “Verbal remarks in store while wearing scrubs” “Angry families, media, Costco, grocery stores” “Shunned for wearing scrubs in public if I had my name badge or facility shirt on, these increases [sic] and was often accompanied by negative comments” “Discrimination from the public when they know you are health care professional” “More so with being vaccinated”
Social isolation	Community, friends, and family fear being around them or stay away, or they isolate due to fear of transmission to others	“In the beginning of pandemic family and friends were nervous about being around me “ “Couldn’t see kids because of fear” “People at my church didn’t want me there because I work in health care” “Not harassment but you lose friends due to fear”
Employment consequences	Family members’ jobs changed due to the subject’s healthcare profession	“Spouse was furloughed for a month” “My family members were instructed to work from home because of my job”
Refusal of treatment or services	Refused a treatment or service since they worked in healthcare or with COVID patients (due to profession)	“I had to cancel health or doctor appointments; after treating COVID patients they would not see me” “Being turned away from dental or health care” “A few stores refused”

Experiences of harassment or verbal aggression outside of work, related to the role as a healthcare professional and other people’s fear of transmission during the COVID-19 pandemic.