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. 2021 Jan;70(1):120-149.
doi: 10.1111/apps.12304. Epub 2021 Jan 12.

Job Demands and Resources among Healthcare Professionals during Virus Pandemics: A Review and Examination of Fluctuations in Mental Health Strain during COVID-19

Thomas W Britt  1 , Marissa L Shuffler  1 , Riley L Pegram  1 , Phoebe Xoxakos  1 , Patrick J Rosopa  1 , Emily Hirsh  2 , William Jackson  2
Affiliations

Job Demands and Resources among Healthcare Professionals during Virus Pandemics: A Review and Examination of Fluctuations in Mental Health Strain during COVID-19

Thomas W Britt et al. Appl Psychol. 2021 Jan.

Abstract

The present article examines how job demands and resources are related to indices of strain among healthcare professionals during virus pandemics. The article also presents the results of a study examining the relationships between COVID-19 demands (e.g., lack of personal protective equipment, concerns about infecting family members), resources (meaningful work, social support), and mental health strain within a sample of emergency medicine personnel over six consecutive weeks. COVID-19-related demands and hours worked were hypothesized to be positively related to mental health strain, whereas meaningful work and social support were hypothesized to be negatively related to mental health strain. Hours worked the prior week were hypothesized to exacerbate the positive relationships between COVID-19 demands and mental health strain, whereas the resources of meaningful work and social support were expected to buffer the relationships. Multilevel models controlling for mental health strain the prior week revealed that COVID-19 demands, along with hours worked, were each related to higher mental health strain during the week. Hours worked magnified the within-person relationship between personal COVID-19 demands and mental health strain. In contrast to the hypotheses, social support and meaningful work were not related to mental health strain. Discussion focuses on the implications of the findings for healthcare professionals.

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Figures

FIGURE 1
FIGURE 1
The job demands‐resources model (health‐impariment component) applied to healthcare professionals during virus epidemics.
FIGURE 2
FIGURE 2
The interaction between COVID‐19 personal demands and hours worked the prior week as predictors of emergency medicine personnel's mental health strain.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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