Abstract
BACKGROUND: The functioning of health care systems in emergencies relies on health care professionals (HCPs). During the COVID-19 pandemic, HCPs faced significant emotional challenges, which affected their productivity. Revealing HCPs' emotional responses may enable the development of effective support strategies for future crises. This study examines the emotional response of HCPs and compares it with that of non-HCPs across distinct pandemic phases. OBJECTIVE: The study aimed to explore and compare the emotional response of HCPs and non-HCPs during the COVID-19 pandemic, to investigate how emotional responses are linked to the pandemic's evolution in the United States, and to assess whether the emotions experienced by HCPs can serve as an early indicator of pandemic progression. METHODS: In a retrospective cohort with a matched comparison group study, we analyzed the emotions of 1450 HCPs and 1387 non-HCPs using 8,723,404 tweets collected from January 2019 to May 2022. Using Twitter profile data and a machine learning classifier, we identified HCPs and matched non-HCPs on the basis of demographics (gender, age, and ethnicity). Emotional responses (fear, sadness, joy, disgust, surprise, and anger) were examined across 5 pandemic phases (prepandemic and 4 pandemic stages) using effect sizes. We used Spearman correlations to examine the associations between HCPs' emotions and pandemic progression. RESULTS: HCPs displayed greater sadness (Cohen d=0.23) in the early pandemic phase and greater fear (Cohen d=0.73-0.10) across the 3 phases than non-HCPs. HCPs exhibited lower levels of anger (Cohen d=-0.19 to -0.13), surprise (Cohen d=-0.33 to -0.15), and disgust (Cohen d=-0.20 to -0.18) than non-HCPs. Joy prevalence was greater among HCPs starting in the second pandemic phase (Cohen d=0.13-0.16). Most emotions returned to prepandemic levels, except sadness, which remained elevated for HCPs. Emotional trends were significantly correlated with pandemic progression (r=0.205-0.480; P<.05). CONCLUSIONS: HCPs experienced distinct emotional responses and resilience capacities compared with non-HCPs during the COVID-19 pandemic. These findings underscore the need for targeted support strategies for future emergencies. The study suggests that HCPs' social media discussions can be complementary tools for monitoring well-being and offer preliminary signals of emerging public health concerns.