IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/gam/jijerp/v20y2023i2p1533-d1035734.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

Feeling Informed and Safe Are Important Factors in the Psychosomatic Health of Frontline Workers in the Health Sector during the COVID-19 Pandemic in Austria

Author

Listed:
  • Melanie Lenger

    (Clinical Department of Psychiatry and Psychotherapeutic Medicine, Medical University Graz, 8036 Graz, Austria)

  • Alexander Maget

    (Clinical Department of Psychiatry and Psychotherapeutic Medicine, Medical University Graz, 8036 Graz, Austria)

  • Nina Dalkner

    (Clinical Department of Psychiatry and Psychotherapeutic Medicine, Medical University Graz, 8036 Graz, Austria)

  • Jorgos N. Lang

    (Clinical Department of Psychiatry and Psychotherapeutic Medicine, Medical University Graz, 8036 Graz, Austria)

  • Frederike T. Fellendorf

    (Clinical Department of Psychiatry and Psychotherapeutic Medicine, Medical University Graz, 8036 Graz, Austria)

  • Michaela Ratzenhofer

    (Clinical Department of Psychiatry and Psychotherapeutic Medicine, Medical University Graz, 8036 Graz, Austria)

  • Elena Schönthaler

    (Clinical Department of Psychiatry and Psychotherapeutic Medicine, Medical University Graz, 8036 Graz, Austria)

  • Eva Fleischmann

    (Clinical Department of Psychiatry and Psychotherapeutic Medicine, Medical University Graz, 8036 Graz, Austria)

  • Armin Birner

    (Clinical Department of Psychiatry and Psychotherapeutic Medicine, Medical University Graz, 8036 Graz, Austria)

  • Susanne A. Bengesser

    (Clinical Department of Psychiatry and Psychotherapeutic Medicine, Medical University Graz, 8036 Graz, Austria)

  • Robert Queissner

    (Clinical Department of Psychiatry and Psychotherapeutic Medicine, Medical University Graz, 8036 Graz, Austria)

  • Martina Platzer

    (Clinical Department of Psychiatry and Psychotherapeutic Medicine, Medical University Graz, 8036 Graz, Austria)

  • Adelina Tmava-Berisha

    (Clinical Department of Psychiatry and Psychotherapeutic Medicine, Medical University Graz, 8036 Graz, Austria)

  • Robert M. Trojak

    (Clinical Department of Psychiatry and Psychotherapeutic Medicine, Medical University Graz, 8036 Graz, Austria)

  • Eva Z. Reininghaus

    (Clinical Department of Psychiatry and Psychotherapeutic Medicine, Medical University Graz, 8036 Graz, Austria)

Abstract

The global spread of the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) has created new challenges for the entire healthcare system, and those who work directly with the patients or even on the front lines with COVID-19 patients have been particularly stressed. Only a few studies are currently available investigating psychosomatic symptoms among healthcare workers, particularly frontline workers, over the entire pandemic period (2020–2022). There is also a lack of knowledge about strategies to prevent stress during and after a health crisis. Methods: An online survey was conducted at three times (April 2020, winter 2020/2021, and winter 2021/2022) during the COVID-19 pandemic in Austria. The sample included 160 healthcare workers at screening time 1, 1.361 healthcare workers at screening time 2, and 1.134 healthcare workers at screening time 3. The survey included COVID-19 work-related fears, satisfaction with the frontline work, and standardized inventories to assess psychosomatic symptoms, such as the Patient Health Questionnaire (PHQ-D). Results: Psychosomatic symptoms were more common among women compared to men, and among frontline workers compared to non-frontline workers, especially during the course of the pandemic at t2 and t3. Self-reported scores of COVID-19 work-related fears were significantly associated with psychosomatic symptoms. Furthermore, in frontline workers, there was a significant association between the feeling of being safe and well-informed and psychosomatic symptoms. Conclusion: COVID-19 work-related fears and psychosomatic symptoms have been prevalent among healthcare workers throughout the pandemic. Feeling safe and informed appears to be essential to prevent psychosomatic symptoms, leading to a recommendation for employers in the healthcare sector to focus on communication and information. As frontline workers are especially prone to psychosomatic symptoms, more stress prevention programs for them will be essential to maintain productivity and reduce sick days and fluctuations in the healthcare system.

Suggested Citation

  • Melanie Lenger & Alexander Maget & Nina Dalkner & Jorgos N. Lang & Frederike T. Fellendorf & Michaela Ratzenhofer & Elena Schönthaler & Eva Fleischmann & Armin Birner & Susanne A. Bengesser & Robert Q, 2023. "Feeling Informed and Safe Are Important Factors in the Psychosomatic Health of Frontline Workers in the Health Sector during the COVID-19 Pandemic in Austria," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 20(2), pages 1-12, January.
    • Handle: RePEc:gam:jijerp:v:20:y:2023:i:2:p:1533-:d:1035734
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: https://www.mdpi.com/1660-4601/20/2/1533/pdf
    Download Restriction: no
    File URL: https://www.mdpi.com/1660-4601/20/2/1533/
    Download Restriction: no
    ---><---

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Max Denning & Ee Teng Goh & Alasdair Scott & Guy Martin & Sheraz Markar & Kelsey Flott & Sam Mason & Jan Przybylowicz & Melanie Almonte & Jonathan Clarke & Jasmine Winter Beatty & Swathikan Chidambara, 2020. "What Has Been the Impact of Covid-19 on Safety Culture? A Case Study from a Large Metropolitan Healthcare Trust," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 17(19), pages 1-14, September.
    2. Paweł Wańkowicz & Aleksandra Szylińska & Iwona Rotter, 2020. "Assessment of Mental Health Factors among Health Professionals Depending on Their Contact with COVID-19 Patients," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 17(16), pages 1-8, August.
    3. Paula McFadden & Jana Ross & John Moriarty & John Mallett & Heike Schroder & Jermaine Ravalier & Jill Manthorpe & Denise Currie & Jaclyn Harron & Patricia Gillen, 2021. "The Role of Coping in the Wellbeing and Work-Related Quality of Life of UK Health and Social Care Workers during COVID-19," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 18(2), pages 1-15, January.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Anna Anastasopoulou & Eftichia Vraimaki & Panagiotis Trivellas, 2023. "Recovery for Resilience: The Mediating Role of Work–Life Balance on the Quality of Life of Women Employees," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 15(17), pages 1-18, August.
    2. Mehwish Majeed & Muhammad Irshad & Jos Bartels, 2021. "The Interactive Effect of COVID-19 Risk and Hospital Measures on Turnover Intentions of Healthcare Workers: A Time-Lagged Study," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 18(20), pages 1-15, October.
    3. Marin G. Olson & Karly M. Pyles & Danielle Kristen Nadorff, 2023. "Give until It Hurts: An Exploratory Analysis of Mental Health Workers’ Wellness," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 20(20), pages 1-11, October.
    4. Melissa McDiarmid & Marian Condon & Joanna Gaitens, 2021. "The Healthcare Sector Employer’s Duty of Care: Implications for Worker Well-Being," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 18(11), pages 1-12, June.
    5. Jonathan Jubin & Philippe Delmas & Ingrid Gilles & Annie Oulevey Bachmann & Claudia Ortoleva Bucher, 2022. "Protective Factors and Coping Styles Associated with Quality of Life during the COVID-19 Pandemic: A Comparison of Hospital or Care Institution and Private Practice Nurses," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 19(12), pages 1-12, June.
    6. Osnat Bashkin & Nadav Davidovitch & Noam Asna & Doron Schwartz & Keren Dopelt, 2021. "The Organizational Atmosphere in Israeli Hospital during COVID-19: Concerns, Perceptions, and Burnout," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 18(11), pages 1-9, May.
    7. Jermaine M. Ravalier, 2022. "Co-Design, Delivery, and Evaluation of Wellbeing Initiatives for NHS Staff: The HOW (Healthier Outcomes at Work) NHS Project," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 19(8), pages 1-15, April.
    8. Clara De Vincenzi & Martina Pansini & Bruna Ferrara & Ilaria Buonomo & Paula Benevene, 2022. "Consequences of COVID-19 on Employees in Remote Working: Challenges, Risks and Opportunities An Evidence-Based Literature Review," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 19(18), pages 1-18, September.
    9. Yasuhiro Kotera & Akihiko Ozaki & Hirotomo Miyatake & Chie Tsunetoshi & Yoshitaka Nishikawa & Makoto Kosaka & Tetsuya Tanimoto, 2022. "Qualitative Investigation into the Mental Health of Healthcare Workers in Japan during the COVID-19 Pandemic," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 19(1), pages 1-14, January.
    10. Georgia Libera Finstad & Gabriele Giorgi & Lucrezia Ginevra Lulli & Caterina Pandolfi & Giulia Foti & José M. León-Perez & Francisco J. Cantero-Sánchez & Nicola Mucci, 2021. "Resilience, Coping Strategies and Posttraumatic Growth in the Workplace Following COVID-19: A Narrative Review on the Positive Aspects of Trauma," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 18(18), pages 1-25, September.
    11. Lukas Zenk & Gerald Steiner & Miguel Pina e Cunha & Manfred D. Laubichler & Martin Bertau & Martin J. Kainz & Carlo Jäger & Eva S. Schernhammer, 2020. "Fast Response to Superspreading: Uncertainty and Complexity in the Context of COVID-19," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 17(21), pages 1-13, October.
    12. Ga-Rog Han & Jae-Eun Lee, 2024. "Does ESG Affect Mental Health of Employees? Focusing on the Moderating Effects of Job Crafting and Relationship Conflict," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 16(14), pages 1-14, July.
    13. Carla Serrão & Ivone Duarte & Luísa Castro & Andreia Teixeira, 2021. "Burnout and Depression in Portuguese Healthcare Workers during the COVID-19 Pandemic—The Mediating Role of Psychological Resilience," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 18(2), pages 1-13, January.
    14. Kazuki Tokumasu & Yoshito Nishimura & Yoko Sakamoto & Mikako Obika & Hitomi Kataoka & Fumio Otsuka, 2023. "Differences in Stress Perception of Medical Students Depending on In-Person Communication and Online Communication during the COVID−19 Pandemic: A Japanese Cross-Sectional Survey," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 20(2), pages 1-10, January.
    15. Qifei Wang & Yihan Zhao & Jian Wang & Haolin Liu & Hui Zhang, 2023. "Research on the Characteristics of Safety Culture and Obstacle Factors among Residents under the Influence of COVID-19 in China," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 20(3), pages 1-17, January.
    16. Cristian-Virgil Lungulescu & Adina Turcu-Stiolica & Cristina Lungulescu & Elena-Adriana Dumitrescu & Razvan-Aurelian Turcu-Stiolica & Vlad-Mihai Croitoru & Irina-Mihaela Cazacu & Adelina-Silvana Gheor, 2022. "How Much Burnout and Coping Influence Quality of Life among Young Oncology Providers in Romania during the COVID-19 Pandemic," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 19(9), pages 1-14, May.
    17. Kuan-Ying Hsieh & Dian-Jeng Li & Frank Huang-Chih Chou & Su-Ting Hsu & Hui-Ching Wu & Li-Shiu Chou & Pei-Jhen Wu & Guei-Ging Lin & Wei-Jen Chen & Chin-Lien Liu & Joh-Jong Huang, 2022. "Relationship of Societal Adaptation with Vaccine Worries among Healthcare Workers during the COVID-19 Pandemic: The Mediating Effects of Posttraumatic Stress Disorder," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 19(15), pages 1-12, August.
    18. Reem Al-Dossary & Majed Alamri & Hamdan Albaqawi & Khaled Al Hosis & Mohammed Aljeldah & Mohammed Aljohan & Khalid Aljohani & Noura Almadani & Bader Alrasheadi & Rawaih Falatah & Joseph Almazan, 2020. "Awareness, Attitudes, Prevention, and Perceptions of COVID-19 Outbreak among Nurses in Saudi Arabia," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 17(21), pages 1-16, November.
    19. Luo Lu & Yi-Ming Ko & Hsing-Yu Chen & Jui-Wen Chueh & Po-Ying Chen & Cary L. Cooper, 2022. "Patient Safety and Staff Well-Being: Organizational Culture as a Resource," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 19(6), pages 1-14, March.
    20. Shereen Hussein & Ann-Marie Towers & Sinead Palmer & Nadia Brookes & Barbora Silarova & Petra Mäkelä, 2022. "Developing a Scale of Care Work-Related Quality of Life (CWRQoL) for Long-Term Care Workers in England," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 19(2), pages 1-20, January.

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:gam:jijerp:v:20:y:2023:i:2:p:1533-:d:1035734. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: MDPI Indexing Manager (email available below). General contact details of provider: https://www.mdpi.com .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.