Psychosocial Work Conditions During the COVID-19 Pandemic and
Their Influences on Mental Health Risk and Intention to Leave Among
Public Health Workers: A Cross-sectional and Follow-up Study in
Taiwan

Psychosocial Work Conditions During the COVID-19 Pandemic and
Their Influences on Mental Health Risk and Intention to Leave Among
Public Health Workers: A Cross-sectional and Follow-up Study in
Taiwan

Intent to leave
Mental health
Public health workers

To examine the influences of psychosocial work conditions on mental health risk and
intention to leave the public sector among workers of public health agencies in Taiwan.
Methods: We surveyed 492 public health workers in March 2022 during the COVID-19 pandemic.
Information on job demands, job control, workplace justice, experiences of workplace violence and its
type and origin, and mental health status (assessed by the 5-item Brief Symptom Rating Scale, BSRS-5)
was obtained. Of them, 192 participated in a follow-up survey conducted in May 2023 that assessed
mental health status, employment changes, and intention to leave.
Results: In the initial survey, 32.93% of participants reported poor mental health status, defined by
having a score of BSRS-5 S 10, and 48.17% experienced some form of workplace violence over the past
year. Notably, high psychosocial job demands (OR ¼ 3.64, 95% CI ¼ 1.93e6.87), low workplace justice
(OR ¼ 2.58, 95% CI ¼ 1.45e4.58), and workplace violence (OR ¼ 2.38, 95% CI ¼ 1.51e3.77) were significantly associated with increased risk of mental disorders. Among those who participated in the followup survey, 22.40% had persistent poor mental health, and 30.73% considered leaving or have left the
public sector. Longitudinal analyses indicated that job demands predicted persistent mental disorders
and intention to leave the public sector, and the experience of workplace violence added additional
mental health risks.
Conclusion: The public health workforce is crucial for effective and resilient public health systems. Our
findings that public health workers were at high mental health risk and had a high intention to leave the
job warrant attention and policy interventions

Ming-Wei Lin 1,2
, Yi-Ting Wang 2
, Yawen Cheng 2,3,*

https://pdf.sciencedirectassets.com/287282/1-s2.0-S2093791123X00055/1-s2.0-S2093791123000653/main.pdf?X-Amz-Security-Token=IQoJb3JpZ2luX2VjEDsaCXVzLWVhc3QtMSJIMEYCIQC4JSToop8pDNlePBXB%2BiyDCu6osEZBkpF4YjchwyXGTgIhANBRqKuKU4%2Bu0JkCK3LXBgtWa9Qc%2F9Fwxi%2BxO41dwRXoKrMFCAQQBRoMMDU5MDAzNTQ2ODY1Igxjed106UGSYqk0t8EqkAX0F1qkUj8xNMeG3seLKeoS9DUuhqjV0WLHE9aW86GCydYbXECmfdJi3029MUjK3xyy5AOdLg%2F6CggMMivv4jROhHNrlEHEx9m4wZYZZxRSL5IYZxWauNpJy3MILgDqS2U%2BPhWoW13rMdhIJcggpQVH1RKyKKmaP3canJXm75X0ykieo3W4XBwVVRl4b0ucfBJ9MRGSPs5xU68Vu76EQwCYdPwWAZMB5s8IZP65NI%2FdsxRHGTqAnhDvQ56R2CTW20C2G%2FkilQIV9Bmqzhc1uO7B7%2FEEqcvBPkKkZ5PZjDLUJyHjh0Bdf%2FTKvgRMSthsGzrY8DbfgLLeyfXn94OyI3moFrhfdTE1qVVw9HEcnxcq3UcX2HWiH%2F0NDspGvIs5BhJ%2FiZgVlhqVGKR51T5jhJKv4BQOVXlwIiXPTXaDcmHEo3fdxbhaEA4aEbEiSrBMG8HBEPjMNfiXq0kA0b%2B4CNSLpzVulfTtbFBXl79B9PphHyRpVAAEtX5XKxLvzhc9J5zV5qxJmLEJPYyW%2F48JSImaidAEQ%2F4hUDlBLTVZElvqWeHlJobaubWeOC%2Fjlh65gAPJfWWowphhfwwKxhiV0c%2FgPUJM6Br4C3vl1eObOOnTkMRoiNjASPtI07KZkfArXS7HcOXjaLX62DiRkU73cIhyYrL%2BjyetrqVApFW%2BXcSQprIZ4GuIa5fr209Rxp1QCUECTIaxZt%2Bc%2BxqVrGIWjrxlzV3CMzdFhLErYjn0%2BL9xLiQnHfzohbifV7slkImA0CY79qvavWeBAi9ssMtcVbp9oygaTBssLB5gVzbw2Q1wM%2Fwax70BYEIHIktFbae%2FPD1hNM5JLKh5KYLj8uoaViWvxxpKqAkUP95BOJ3b3vES3zCiwPnMBjqwAZ6xH4xFinPHYkydCioSrtvRiPF0nNUNnYMtkolwkzZy6uHxYTQQiO4tGXc1Pdk2d0HlQClAPsQZjiM06qkmhSm8%2F2wseYO1gkskqLGY%2FjcYvM1gZxK7mKaopEV8jyR99KDiWpZ%2F158h%2F5xA6Kwlc0aAKo8pkquZFHBapFBPBwTWd09vNJztGEI9q6WgCuYuu4MFwVrZgZBiydeANX%2Be7WDclAbM9lrmJiP8c2NkOokl&X-Amz-Algorithm=AWS4-HMAC-SHA256&X-Amz-Date=20260225T033447Z&X-Amz-SignedHeaders=host&X-Amz-Expires=300&X-Amz-Credential=ASIAQ3PHCVTYTZGGPZBY%2F20260225%2Fus-east-1%2Fs3%2Faws4_request&X-Amz-Signature=3deb3630fd68878e570e71f6e64ce7ccdc140091f7d40ebdbc1bb30cc86c4252&hash=333495ae1784451757a3fd8e3e2f061cc33af2b5f43548ddb5a5a5749b9f11a3&host=68042c943591013ac2b2430a89b270f6af2c76d8dfd086a07176afe7c76c2c61&pii=S2093791123000653&tid=spdf-3837d9ea-7059-4194-9366-3072efe102d6&sid=b585a8cb3005e34e31380931a4e7e9d5ebd2gxrqb&type=client&tsoh=d3d3LnNjaWVuY2VkaXJlY3QuY29t&rh=d3d3LnNjaWVuY2VkaXJlY3QuY29t&ua=0b015e065456535152&rr=9d342620c86ebe7b&cc=id

1Department of Psychiatry, Taichung Armed Forces General Hospital, Taichung, Taiwan
2 Institute of Health Policy and Management, College of Public Health, National Taiwan University, Taipei, Taiwan
3Department of Public Health, College of Public Health, National Taiwan University, Taipei, Taiwa

12 October 2023

FAJAR BAGUS W

PDF

ENGLISH

TEXT