Mental Health, Work Satisfaction and, Quality of Life Among Healthcare Professionals During the COVID-19 Pandemic in an Indonesian Sample

Impact of COVID-19 on Sleep, Anxiety, and Depression Among Medical Call Center Staff: Insights from a January 2021 Study

BACKGROUND The COVID-19 outbreak emerged as a dual threat, effecting both the physical and mental well-being of healthcare staff. This study aimed to evaluate sleep quality using the Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index (PSQI), levels of anxiety and depression using the Hospital Anxiety Depression Scale (HADS), and the significant influencing factors during COVID-19 pandemic in 284 workers in a medical call center in January 2021. MATERIAL AND METHODS Out of 443 pre-hospital care providers, 284 consented to participate. Data collection was done using an introductory information form, the PSQI for sleep quality, and the HADS for anxiety (HADS-A) and depression (HADS-D). Surveys were hosted on an online survey website and distributed via WhatsApp, with completed forms retrieved from the website. RESULTS Male sex (P=0.0001) and extended working hours in current workplace (P=0.017) were associated with higher HADS-A scores. Health problems, increased need for mental support, and poor job satisfaction correlated with lower HADS-D scores (P=0.025, P=0.005, P=0.0001, respectively) and higher PSQI scores (P=0.008, P=0.009, P=0.008, respectively). A moderately significant positive correlation was found between overall sleep quality and HADS-A (P=0.001, r=0.538) and HADS-D scores (P=0.001, r=0.493). CONCLUSIONS The pandemic significantly impacted the mental health and sleep quality of frontline healthcare personnel, necessitating the identification and mitigation of adverse psychosocial factors. Implementing and evaluating psychoeducational programs and establishing multidisciplinary mental health teams can provide for essential support and counseling, promoting the well-being of healthcare staff and ensuring effective emergency care.

Comparative analysis of stress level and coping strategies due to COVID-19 pandemics among dental students in Indonesia and Vietnam

Objective

This study investigated and compared the perceived stress levels and coping strategies of dental students in Indonesia and Vietnam during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Materials and methods

A cross-sectional survey was conducted online in 2022 for dental students from the University of Indonesia and Can Tho University, Vietnam (n = 304). Perceived stress levels and coping strategies were assessed using a self-administered questionnaire about student sociodemographic factors, learning experiences, coping strategies, stress-related factors, and stress levels. Data were analyzed using Mann-Whitney, Kruskal Wallis, and Spearman correlation tests.

Results

This study showed the overall mean stress level was 23.9 (SD = 5.63), with a significant difference observed between Indonesian (24.44, SD = 5.14) and Vietnamese students (23.32, SD = 6.13) (p = 0.016), indicating potential variations in stress experiences. Key findings include a correlation between living arrangements and stress, as students living independently report higher stress (23.96, SD = 6.24) compared to those living with family (23.95, SD = 5.29) (p = 0.018). Fifth-year students exhibit lower stress levels (21.17, SD = 6.12) than other grades (p = 0.026). Multiple training sessions about COVID-19 are associated with better coping strategies (9.95, SD = 0.91, p < 0.001). The study also revealed different perceptions of COVID-19 learning experiences among dental students in Indonesian and Vietnamese dental students, with significant correlations observed between stress levels, coping strategies, and specific concerns such as graduation time and COVID-19-induced changes (p < 0.05).

Conclusion

This study shows students experience moderate stress levels, but the significant differences in stress experiences and coping strategies between the two countries highlighted the need for tailored approaches. Providing social support from faculty, family, friends, and peer dental students was one of the students' strategies to cope and minimize stress levels.

Work-related stress among nurses in the COVID-19 pandemic: What are the contributing factors?

OBJECTIVE

To analyze the contributing factors of work-related stress among nurses in the COVID-19 pandemic.

METHODS

A cross-sectional study was conducted with 101 nurse practitioners from two hospitals in West Java, Indonesia. We distributed an online questionnaire to evaluate work-related stress and the data were analyzed using ordinal logistic regression.

RESULTS

More than half of the nurses experienced moderate work-related stress. The study revealed that nurses aged over 35 years old had a lower likelihood of experiencing work-related stress (AOR: 0.173; 95%CI: 0.038-0.782). Married nurses had a higher likelihood (AOR: 7.156; 95% CI: 1.456-35.163). Additionally, nurses with low and moderate workloads had a lower likelihood (AOR: 0.003; 95%CI: 0.000-0.051) and (AOR: 0.025; 95%CI: 0.005-0.116), respectively.

CONCLUSION

The consideration of age, marital status, and workload is essential in effectively addressing work-related stress among nurse practitioners.

How does the work-life balance impact stress on primary healthcare workers during the COVID-19 pandemic?

BACKGROUND

Most studies in advanced care settings reported that the increasing workload increases the work-life imbalance and harms the mental health of health workers. The COVID-19 Pandemic's tracing, testing, treatment, and mass vaccination also have multiplied the primary healthcare workers' workload. Nevertheless, studies on primary care workers are scarce. This study aimed to investigate how the COVID-19-related work-life balance impact stress on primary healthcare workers in the third years of the pandemic.

METHODS

The study was a cross-sectional, web-based survey conducted on primary healthcare workers in Kediri Regency, Indonesia, with the highest Omicron case surge worldwide. It was conducted right after the surge between July and August 2022, the third year of the COVID-19 pandemic hit Indonesia. Under coordination with the local government health officials, primary healthcare workers were invited to participate in an online survey. The respondents were asked to evaluate their sociodemography, work conditions, personal life, and perceived stress (using the Perceived Stress Scale) during the pandemic. Their work-life balance was evaluated using the Work/Non-work Interference and Enhancement Scale. We used several hierarchical linear regression models to determine which variables contribute to work stress among primary healthcare workers.

RESULTS

Sociodemographic characteristics, including gender, age, marital status, years of professional experience, and educational level, were not significantly associated with stress levels among our respondents. Separately, work conditions and personal life variables did not associate with stress levels. However, primary healthcare workers' work and personal lives interfere with each other during the pandemic and are associated with their higher stress.

CONCLUSION

During the pandemic, the work life of primary health workers interferes with their personal life more than the interference of personal life on their work life. At the same time, the work life's enhancement on the personal life and vice versa were lower than its interference. Those conditions are associated with higher perceived stress of primary health workers.

Post-COVID Quality of Life and Sleep Among Younger Healthcare Workers of Designated COVID Care Centers: A Cross-Sectional Study

Introduction Frontline healthcare workers (FLHCWs) have been persuaded to work this coronavirus disease (COVID) pandemic way in and out but the pandemic has not subsided. The persistence of symptoms after COVID infection, especially chest symptoms like early fatigue with breathlessness, has been documented very well. However, FLHCWs have repeatedly caught the COVID infection and have been working in traumatic and helpless situations since the pandemic started. Post-COVID infection, quality of life (QOL) and sleep are greatly affected, regardless of the time elapsed since discharge or recovery. The continuous assessment of COVID-infected persons for post-COVID sequelae is an important and effective step to reduce complications. Materials and methods This was a cross-sectional study conducted for a period of one year at R.L. Jalappa Hospital and Research Center, Kolar, and SNR District Hospital, Kolar, which were designated COVID care centers. FLHCWs working in these centers who had contracted COVID infection at least once, who were more than 18 years and less than 30 years, and who had experience of less than five years irrespective of their vaccination status were included in the study. FLHCWs with COVID-related health illnesses, which needed ICU admission and prolonged hospital admission, were excluded. To assess QOL, the WHO Quality of Life Brief Version (WHOQOL-BREF) questionnaire was used. To assess sleepiness, the Epworth daytime sleepiness scale was used. The study was started after the institutional ethical committee's clearance was obtained. Results A total of 201 healthcare workers (HCWs) completed the survey. Of the participants, 119 (59.2%) were male, 107 (53.2%) were junior residents, 134 (66.7%) were unmarried, and 171 (85.1%) said they followed regular shifts. Male HCWs had higher scores in the psychological, social relationship, and environmental domains of QoL. Consultants had higher scores in all domains of QoL. Married HCWs had higher scores in the physical, psychological, and social relationship domains of QoL. Out of 201 FLHCWs, 67 (33.3%) had moderate excessive daytime sleep, and 25 (12.4%) had severe excessive daytime sleep. Few factors like gender, occupation, duration of work in the hospital, and regular shifts were statistically significant factors associated with daytime sleepiness. Conclusion The present study has shown that even after the COVID vaccination doses received by the HCWs, sleep and Qol have still been impaired among infected younger healthcare staff. Acceptable and righteous efforts must be made by the institutions for proper policymaking to manage such infectious outbreaks in the future.

Impact of COVID-19 on Management, Quality and Satisfaction of Health Organizations: A Case Study in a Portuguese Hospital

The hospital health care professionals are the front-line fighting COVID-19 considering they are responsible for all the care provided to patients. The purpose of this study was to determine the impact of COVID-19 at the hospital management level and, also, to understand how psychosocial environment, and satisfaction of Health Professionals were affected. A case study was performed in a Portuguese Hospital. Data were collected at one hospital under study at two different occasions: the first before the pandemic (November 2019) and the second almost two years after the pandemic started (November 2021). Regarding data collection, 37.0% of participants responded in the occasion 1 (n = 296) and 63.0% responded in the occasion 2 (n = 503). The instrument for the Assessment of Global Management of Health Organizations (AGMHO) consists of 39 items organized into six dimensions (Gaspar et al. in J Occup Environ Med 63: 581-587, 2021). Comparing timings pre and during pandemic COVID-19, it was found that the participants in the pre-COVID-19 era showed stronger organizational culture, higher quality of life, better psychosocial environment regarding content/leadership and higher job satisfaction when compared to the participants during pandemic COVID-19. On the other hand, participants in the second occasion were found to have higher psychosocial risks related to mental health when compared to participants in the pre-COVID-19 phase. We conclude that the professionals' perception of the different dimensions of the health organization worsened after 2 years of the pandemic. With special focus on psychosocial risks at work and relationship with leadership.

Impact of COVID-19 Lockdowns on the Activity and Mental Health of Older People in Indonesia: A Qualitative Study

The COVID-19 pandemic has caused detrimental impacts on different population groups throughout the world. This study aimed to explore the impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic's mandatory lockdown protocols on individual and social activities and mental health conditions of community-dwelling older people in Jakarta, Indonesia. A qualitative design using one-on-one in-depth interviews was employed to collect data from the participants (n = 24) who were recruited using the snowball sampling technique. Data analysis was guided by the five steps proposed in a qualitative data analysis framework, including familiarisation with the data, identification of a thematic framework, indexing the data, charting the data and mapping and interpreting the data. The findings showed that before the COVID-19 outbreak participants engaged in different kinds of regular individual and social activities. However, the COVID-19 outbreak and its mandatory lockdown protocols significantly influenced both their activities and social life, which led to social disconnection and financial difficulties for them. COVID-19 outbreak, mandatory lockdown protocols, and the disruption of individual and social activities of the participants also caused mental health challenges to them, including feelings of loneliness, loss, sadness, stress, and anger. The findings suggest that there is a need for intervention programs addressing the socio-economic and mental health impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic on older populations to help them cope with these challenges. Future studies involving large-scale older populations to comprehensively understand COVID-19 impacts on them are recommended.

B Vitamins, work‐related stress and emotional mental disorders: a cross‐sectional study among nurses in Indonesia

Aim

The aim of this study was to examine the relationship between intake of vitamins B1, B6, B9 and B12 with emotional mental disorders among nurses in Indonesia.

Design

This cross‐sectional study included nurses who have worked at least six months at a private hospital in Indonesia from March to April 2021.

Methods

We used the Food Frequency Questionnaire, Self‐Reporting Questionnaire 20 and the Expanded Nursing Stress Scale questionnaire to assess the B‐vitamin intake, emotional mental disorders and work‐related stress.

Results

Of 80 interviewed nurses, 8.8% experienced severe work‐related stress, and 22.5% had emotional mental disorders. Most nurses had inadequate intake of vitamins B1 and B9 but had adequate intake of vitamins B6 (72.5%) and B12 (56.3%). Emotional mental disorders are more probably to occur in nurses with less intake of vitamins B6 and B12, with respective aOR of 20.06, 95% CI 4.14–97.09 (p < .001) and 4.49, 95% CI 1.19–16.83 (p = .026).