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

Introduction: Healthcare systems increasingly move toward “value-based healthcare” (VBHC), aiming to further improve quality and performance of care as well as the sustainable use of resources. Evidence about healthcare professionals' contributions to VBHC, experienced job demands and resources as well as employee well-being in VBHC is scattered. This systematic review synthesizes this evidence by exploring how VBHC relates to the healthcare professional, and vice versa.Method: Seven databases were systematically searched for relevant studies. The search yielded 3,782 records, of which 45 were eligible for inclusion based on a two-step screening process using exclusion criteria performed by two authors independently. The quality of the included studies was appraised using the Mixed Methods Appraisal Tool (MMAT). Based on inductive thematic analysis, the Job Demands-Resources (JD-R) model was modified. Subsequently, this modified model was applied deductively for a second round of thematic analysis.Results: Ten behaviors of healthcare professionals to enhance value in care were identified. These behaviors and associated changes in professionals' work content and work environment impacted the experienced job demands and resources and, in turn, employee well-being and job strain. This review revealed 16 constructs as job demand and/or job resource. Examples of these include role strain, workload and meaning in work. Four constructs related to employee well-being, including engagement and job satisfaction, and five constructs related to job strain, including exhaustion and concerns, were identified. A distinction was made between job demands and resources that were a pure characteristic of VBHC, and job demands and resources that resulted from environmental factors such as how care organizations shaped VBHC.Conclusion and Discussion: This review shows that professionals experience substantial job demands and resources resulting from the move toward VBHC and their active role therein. Several job demands are triggered by an unsupportive organizational environment. Hence, increased organizational support may contribute to mitigating or avoiding adverse psychosocial factors and enhance positive psychosocial factors in a VBHC context. Further research to estimate the effects of VBHC on healthcare professionals is warranted.

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“We All Held Our Own”: Job Demands and Resources at Individual, Leader, Group, and Organizational Levels During COVID-19 Outbreak in Health Care. A Multi-Source Qualitative Study

Workplace Health & Safety ◽

10.1177/21650799211038499 ◽

2021 ◽

pp. 216507992110384

Author(s):

Davide Giusino ◽

Marco De Angelis ◽

Greta Mazzetti ◽

Marit Christensen ◽

Siw Tone Innstrand ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Mental Health ◽

Health Care ◽

Health Care Workers ◽

Job Demands ◽

Group Leader ◽

Organizational Level ◽

Individual Group ◽

Care Workers ◽

The Individual ◽

Job Demands And Resources

Background: Interventions tackling COVID-19 impact on health care workers’ mental health would benefit from being informed by validated and integrated assessment frameworks. This study aimed to explore the fitness of integrating the Job Demands-Resources (JD-R) model and the Individual-Group-Leader-Organization (IGLO) framework to investigate the pandemic’s impact on health care workers’ mental health. Methods: Qualitative data were collected via 21 semi-structured interviews with senior and middle managers and four focus groups with employees (doctors, nurses, health care assistants) from three areas (Department of Emergency, Department of Medicine, Research Institute of Neuroscience) of a large health care institution facing the first wave of COVID-19. NVivo deductive content analysis of text data was performed. Findings: Several COVID-19-related job demands and resources were found at IGLO levels. Individual-level demands included emotional load, while resources included resilience and motivation. Group-level demands included social distancing, while resources included team support and cohesion. Leader-level demands included managers’ workload, while resources included leader support. Organizational-level demands included work reorganization, while resources included mental health initiatives. Conclusions/Application to Practice: Integrating JD-R and IGLO proved feasible, as job demands and resources could be categorized according to the individual, group, leader, and organization framework. The findings expand previous studies by filling the lack of knowledge on how job demands and resources might unfold at different workplace levels during a pandemic. Results provide unit-level evidence for designing and implementing multilevel interventions to manage health care workers’ mental health during COVID-19 and future pandemics. Our findings offer occupational health practitioners a suitable approach to perform workplace mental health assessment activities.

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The Role of Job Demands and Resources on Absenteeism, Engagement and Health of Portuguese Workers

PsycEXTRA Dataset ◽

10.1037/e604062012-230 ◽

2012 ◽

Author(s):

Daniela Sousa ◽

Joao Paulo Pereira ◽

Maria Joao Cunha ◽

Ludovina Azevedo ◽

Pedro Lopes

Keyword(s):

Job Demands ◽

Job Demands And Resources

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Healthcare professionals’ perspectives on mental health service provision: a pilot focus group study in six European countries

International Journal of Mental Health Systems ◽

10.1186/s13033-020-00350-1 ◽

2020 ◽

Vol 14 (1) ◽

Author(s):

Sofia Triliva ◽

Spyridoula Ntani ◽

Theodoros Giovazolias ◽

Konstantinos Kafetsios ◽

Malin Axelsson ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Mental Health ◽

Mental Health Service ◽

Focus Group ◽

Health Service ◽

Service Provision ◽

Healthcare Professionals ◽

European Countries ◽

Focus Group Study ◽

Health Service Provision ◽

Mental Health Service Provision

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Factors associated with emotional exhaustion in healthcare professionals involved in the COVID-19 pandemic: an application of the job demands-resources model

International Archives of Occupational and Environmental Health ◽

10.1007/s00420-021-01669-z ◽

2021 ◽

Author(s):

Serena Barello ◽

Rosario Caruso ◽

Lorenzo Palamenghi ◽

Tiziana Nania ◽

Federica Dellafiore ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Emotional Exhaustion ◽

Patient Engagement ◽

Healthcare Professionals ◽

Job Demands ◽

Cross Sectional Study ◽

Personal Resources ◽

Sectional Study ◽

Cross Sectional ◽

The Impact

Abstract Purpose The purpose of the present cross-sectional study is to investigate the role of perceived COVID-19-related organizational demands and threats in predicting emotional exhaustion, and the role of organizational support in reducing the negative influence of perceived COVID-19 work-related stressors on burnout. Moreover, the present study aims to add to the understanding of the role of personal resources in the Job Demands-Resources model (JD-R) by examining whether personal resources—such as the professionals’ orientation towards patient engagement—may also strengthen the impact of job resources and mitigate the impact of job demands. Methods This cross-sectional study involved 532 healthcare professionals working during the COVID-19 pandemic in Italy. It adopted the Job-Demands-Resource Model to study the determinants of professional’s burnout. An integrative model describing how increasing job demands experienced by this specific population are related to burnout and in particular to emotional exhaustion symptoms was developed. Results The results of the logistic regression models provided strong support for the proposed model, as both Job Demands and Resources are significant predictors (OR = 2.359 and 0.563 respectively, with p < 0.001). Moreover, healthcare professionals’ orientation towards patient engagement appears as a significant moderator of this relationship, as it reduces Demands’ effect (OR = 1.188) and increases Resources’ effect (OR = 0.501). Conclusions These findings integrate previous findings on the JD-R Model and suggest the relevance of personal resources and of relational factors in affecting professionals’ experience of burnout.

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Relationship between generic and occupation-specific job demands and resources, negative work−home interference and burnout among GPs

Journal of Management & Organization ◽

10.1017/jmo.2021.16 ◽

2021 ◽

pp. 1-29

Author(s):

N.C. Verhoef ◽

M. De Ruiter ◽

R.J. Blomme ◽

E.C. Curfs

Keyword(s):

Emotional Exhaustion ◽

Ecological Validity ◽

Job Demands ◽

Job Design ◽

Specific Work ◽

Cross Sectional ◽

Important Extension ◽

Work Family ◽

The Relationship ◽

Job Demands And Resources

Abstract Scholars often examine the effect of generic job demands and resources on burnout, yet to increase ecological validity, it is important to examine the effects of occupation-specific characteristics. An extended version of the job demands-resources model with work−home interference as a mediator is examined among a cross-sectional sample of 178 general practitioners (GPs). Interviews with GPs were used to develop questions on occupation-specific work characteristics. Hypotheses were tested in MEDIATE. Both generic and occupation-specific job demands positively affected emotional exhaustion, while only occupation-specific job demands affected depersonalization. Only strain-based work−family interference mediated the relationship between generic and occupation-specific job demands, emotional exhaustion and depersonalization. This study offers an important extension of the job demands-resources model by including occupation-specific job characteristics. This broader perspective can aid in more targeted job design to reduce burnout among GPs.

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A novel patient-reported outcome monitoring with clinical feedback system in bariatric surgery care: study protocol, design and plan for evaluation

BMJ Open ◽

10.1136/bmjopen-2020-037685 ◽

2020 ◽

Vol 10 (6) ◽

pp. e037685

Author(s):

Pål André Hegland ◽

Anny Aasprang ◽

Ronette L Kolotkin ◽

Christian Moltu ◽

Grethe S Tell ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Mental Health ◽

Bariatric Surgery ◽

Data Protection ◽

Healthcare Professionals ◽

Feedback System ◽

Patient Reported Outcome ◽

Outpatient Clinics ◽

Outcome Monitoring ◽

Patient Reported ◽

Clinical Feedback

BackgroundConsultations before and after bariatric surgery should include structured assessments of patients’ health-related quality of life (HRQOL) and mental health. One way to conduct this assessment is to implement patient-reported outcome monitoring with a clinical feedback system (PRO/CFS).AimWe will explore patients’ and healthcare professionals’ experiences when a PRO/CFS is an integrated part of bariatric surgery care.Methods and analysesThis is a design paper in which a PRO/CFS will be implemented in two bariatric outpatient clinics. All patients who have an appointment with a healthcare professional prior to, and 3 and 12 months after surgery, will be asked to complete six digital questionnaires measuring HRQOL, mental health, bowel symptoms and eating self-efficacy prior to each consultation. A digital summary report generated from the patient’s responses will form the basis for the clinical consultation. A team of patient representatives, healthcare professionals and researchers will be involved in all phases of designing the PRO/CFS to ensure its relevance for clinical consultations. The patients’ experiences will be explored with a generic 12-item questionnaire, developed for use in outpatient clinics, prior to and 12 months after bariatric surgery. We will conduct focus-group interviews with patients and healthcare professionals to explore their experiences when PRO/CFS is integrated into the consultations.Ethics and disseminationWritten informed consent will be obtained for all participants in the study. The project is approved by the Norwegian Centre for Research Data, Department of Data Protection Services (ref. no. 282738). The project has also undergone Data Protection Impact Assessments, both at Førde Hospital Trust and at St. Olav Hospital (registration no. 2016/3912). Data from the qualitative and quantitative studies will be kept in de-identified form in a secured research database, and the findings will be published in international peer-reviewed journals and presented at scientific conferences.

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Can Chatbots Help Support a Person’s Mental Health? Perceptions and Views from Mental Healthcare Professionals and Experts

ACM Transactions on Computing for Healthcare ◽

10.1145/3453175 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 2 (3) ◽

pp. 1-15

Author(s):

Colm Sweeney ◽

Courtney Potts ◽

Edel Ennis ◽

Raymond Bond ◽

Maurice D. Mulvenna ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Mental Health ◽

User Interfaces ◽

Personal Experience ◽

Online Survey ◽

Healthcare Professionals ◽

Mental Healthcare ◽

Health Perceptions ◽

Human Emotion ◽

Health And Wellbeing ◽

Perceived Importance

The objective of this study was to understand the attitudes of professionals who work in mental health regarding the use of conversational user interfaces, or chatbots, to support people’s mental health and wellbeing. This study involves an online survey to measure the awareness and attitudes of mental healthcare professionals and experts. The findings from this survey show that more than half of the participants in the survey agreed that there are benefits associated with mental healthcare chatbots (65%, p < 0.01). The perceived importance of chatbots was also relatively high (74%, p < 0.01), with more than three-quarters (79%, p < 0.01) of respondents agreeing that mental healthcare chatbots could help their clients better manage their own health, yet chatbots are overwhelmingly perceived as not adequately understanding or displaying human emotion (86%, p < 0.01). Even though the level of personal experience with chatbots among professionals and experts in mental health has been quite low, this study shows that where they have been used, the experience has been mostly satisfactory. This study has found that as years of experience increased, there was a corresponding increase in the belief that healthcare chatbots could help clients better manage their own mental health.

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