Peer Review #2 of "Measuring the well-being of health care professionals in the Punjab: a psychometric evaluation of the Warwick–Edinburgh Mental Well-being Scale in a Pakistani population (v0.1)"

Background: Health care professionals are particularly vulnerable to emotional distress in the COVID-19 pandemic, due to risk of exposure to the virus, concern about infecting and caring for their loved ones, longer work hours, and involvement in emotionally and ethically fraught resource allocation decisions. The sudden role reversal from healthcare provider to the confirmed or suspected patient potentially leads to a sense of frustration. During the COVID-19 battle the doctors and nurses in India are handling increased infection risk, paucity of protective gear, and assault.Methods: An online questionnaire based cross sectional study was conducted among health care professionals in a tertiary health care setting in central India. Proforma had questions on impact of COVID 19, mental well being, stress and anxiety.Results: Of the 237 study participants, 182 had moderate and 25 had high stress. Anxiety was present in 46%. There was a significant difference in stress (χ2=11.22, p<0.001) and anxiety (χ2=6.6712, p=0.009) in study participants <40 years and ≥40 years age. Multivariate logistic regression showed significant role of sleep and appetite disturbances. Positive correlation was established between perceived stress and anxiety (R=0.713).Conclusions: A state of good mental well-being despite the presence of stress and anxiety simultaneously indicates.

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Measuring the well-being of health care professionals in the Punjab: a psychometric evaluation of the Warwick-Edinburgh Mental Well-being Scale in a Pakistani population

10.7287/peerj.preprints.1084 ◽

2015 ◽

Author(s):

Ahmed Waqas ◽

Waqas Ahmad ◽

Mark Haddad ◽

Frances Taggart ◽

Zerwah Muhammad ◽

...

Keyword(s):

General Population ◽

Internal Consistency ◽

Health Care Professionals ◽

Healthcare Professionals ◽

Population Sample ◽

Well Being ◽

Pakistani Population ◽

Retest Reliability ◽

Test Retest Reliability ◽

Mental Well Being

Background: There is growing awareness of the public health importance of the mental well-being of population in general. This study was carried out to examine the wellbeing of Pakistani healthcare professionals, and to evaluate the psychometric properties of Warwick-Edinburgh Mental Well-being Scale in in this population. The well-being of health professionals is likely to influence their care delivery. Methods: A cross-sectional survey was carried out from June, 2013 to December, 2014 among 1271 Pakistani health personnel (HCPs) belonging to seven different cities of Punjab province, Pakistan, to examine the acceptability, internal consistency, test-retest reliability and the content and construct validity of the English version of the Warwick-Edinburgh Mental Well-being Scale in a Pakistani population sample. All data were analyzed in SPSS v.21. Results: Our analysis demonstrated a unidimensional construct, a high internal consistency (0.89) and test-retest reliability, good convergent validity and easy readability of WEMBS among Pakistani HCPs. The mean on WEMWBS score was 48.1 (9.4) which is lower than general population sample in other nations. Male healthcare professionals scored significantly higher on WEMWBS than their female counterparts (P < .05), and older respondents had higher scores. Conclusion: The WEMBS appears feasible and acceptable for use in the Pakistani healthcare professionals, and findings from this study indicate its validity and internal consistency. The well-being scores of the health professional respondents were lower than those identified in general population surveys in the UK.

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Measuring the well-being of health care professionals in the Punjab: a psychometric evaluation of the Warwick–Edinburgh Mental Well-being Scale in a Pakistani population

PeerJ ◽

10.7717/peerj.1264 ◽

2015 ◽

Vol 3 ◽

pp. e1264 ◽

Cited By ~ 12

Author(s):

Ahmed Waqas ◽

Waqas Ahmad ◽

Mark Haddad ◽

Frances M. Taggart ◽

Zerwah Muhammad ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Health Care ◽

General Population ◽

Construct Validity ◽

Internal Consistency ◽

Population Sample ◽

Well Being ◽

Pakistani Population ◽

Retest Reliability ◽

Test Retest Reliability ◽

Mental Well Being

Background.There is growing awareness of the public health importance of mental well-being both in the general population and in specific groups. The well-being of health professionals is likely to influence the quality of the care they deliver. This study was carried out to examine the well-being of Pakistani healthcare professionals, and to evaluate the psychometric performance of the Warwick–Edinburgh Mental Well-being Scale (WEMWBS) in this population.Methods.A cross-sectional survey was carried out from June, 2013 to December, 2014 among 1,271 Pakistani health care providers (HCPs) working in seven different cities in Punjab province, Pakistan, to examine the acceptability, internal consistency, test-retest reliability and content and construct validity of the English version of the WEMWBS in a Pakistani population sample. All data were analyzed in SPSS v. 21.Results.Our analysis demonstrated unidimensional construct validity, high internal consistency (0.89) and test-retest reliability, good validity and easy readability of WEMWBS in our sample of Pakistani HCPs. The mean WEMWBS score was 48.1 (SD 9.4), which is lower than in the general population in other countries. Male HCPs scored significantly higher on the WEMWBS than their female counterparts (P< 0.05), and older respondents had higher scores.Conclusion.The WEMWBS appears acceptable for use in Pakistani HCPs, and findings from this study verify its validity and internal consistency for this population sample. Our respondents had lower well-being scores than those reported in general population surveys in the UK.

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Measuring the well-being of health care professionals in the Punjab: a psychometric evaluation of the Warwick-Edinburgh Mental Well-being Scale in a Pakistani population

10.7287/peerj.preprints.1084v2 ◽

2015 ◽

Author(s):

Ahmed Waqas ◽

Waqas Ahmad ◽

Mark Haddad ◽

Frances Taggart ◽

Zerwah Muhammad ◽

...

Keyword(s):

General Population ◽

Internal Consistency ◽

Health Care Professionals ◽

Healthcare Professionals ◽

Population Sample ◽

Well Being ◽

Pakistani Population ◽

Retest Reliability ◽

Test Retest Reliability ◽

Mental Well Being

Background: There is growing awareness of the public health importance of the mental well-being of population in general. This study was carried out to examine the wellbeing of Pakistani healthcare professionals, and to evaluate the psychometric properties of Warwick-Edinburgh Mental Well-being Scale in in this population. The well-being of health professionals is likely to influence their care delivery. Methods: A cross-sectional survey was carried out from June, 2013 to December, 2014 among 1271 Pakistani health personnel (HCPs) belonging to seven different cities of Punjab province, Pakistan, to examine the acceptability, internal consistency, test-retest reliability and the content and construct validity of the English version of the Warwick-Edinburgh Mental Well-being Scale in a Pakistani population sample. All data were analyzed in SPSS v.21. Results: Our analysis demonstrated a unidimensional construct, a high internal consistency (0.89) and test-retest reliability, good convergent validity and easy readability of WEMBS among Pakistani HCPs. The mean on WEMWBS score was 48.1 (9.4) which is lower than general population sample in other nations. Male healthcare professionals scored significantly higher on WEMWBS than their female counterparts (P < .05), and older respondents had higher scores. Conclusion: The WEMBS appears feasible and acceptable for use in the Pakistani healthcare professionals, and findings from this study indicate its validity and internal consistency. The well-being scores of the health professional respondents were lower than those identified in general population surveys in the UK.

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Teaching Interspiritual Dialogue to Health Care Professionals

10.1093/oso/9780190677565.003.0022 ◽

2017 ◽

Author(s):

Kelly R. Arora

Keyword(s):

Health Care ◽

Doctoral Students ◽

Health Care Professionals ◽

Well Being ◽

Course Structure ◽

Beliefs And Practices ◽

Pedagogical Choices ◽

Dimensions Of Teaching ◽

Contemporary Context ◽

Made In

Interspiritual conversations are becoming more common in health care settings as providers recognize that patients’ diverse spiritual/religious values, beliefs, and practices may influence their health care decision-making and general well-being. This essay explores the practical dimensions of teaching health care professionals how to use an interspiritual dialogue approach grounded in values and particularism through a course entitled “Faith, Spirituality and Culture in Health Care,” which was designed for and taught to doctoral students at a Denver, Colorado, School of Pharmacy. After considering the contemporary context for teaching interspiritual dialogue to healthcare professionals, the essay reflects upon and relates the pedagogical choices made in designing and teaching the course, as well as the course structure, outline, objectives, and schedule.

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COVID-19 is having a destructive impact on health-care workers’ mental well-being

International Journal for Quality in Health Care ◽

10.1093/intqhc/mzaa158 ◽

2020 ◽

Author(s):

Kris Vanhaecht ◽

Deborah Seys ◽

Luk Bruyneel ◽

Bianca Cox ◽

Gorik Kaesemans ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Mental Health ◽

Health Care ◽

Residential Care ◽

Health Care Workers ◽

Well Being ◽

Mental Health Symptoms ◽

Health Symptoms ◽

Care Workers ◽

Sources Of Support ◽

Mental Well Being

Abstract Background The coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) may aggravate workplace conditions that impact health-care workers’ mental health. However, it can also place other stresses on workers outside of their work. This study determines the effect of COVID-19 on symptoms of negative and positive mental health and the workforce’s experience with various sources of support. Effect modification by demographic variables was also studied. Methods A cross-sectional survey study, conducted between 2 April and 4 May 2020 (two waves), led to a convenience sample of 4509 health-care workers in Flanders (Belgium), including paramedics (40.6%), nurses (33.4%), doctors (13.4%) and management staff (12.2%). About three in four were employed in university and acute hospitals (29.6%), primary care practices (25.7%), residential care centers (21.3%) or care sites for disabled and mental health care. In each of the two waves, participants were asked how frequently (on a scale of 0–10) they experienced positive and negative mental health symptoms during normal circumstances and during last week, referred to as before and during COVID-19, respectively. These symptoms were stress, hypervigilance, fatigue, difficulty sleeping, unable to relax, fear, irregular lifestyle, flashback, difficulty concentrating, feeling unhappy and dejected, failing to recognize their own emotional response, doubting knowledge and skills and feeling uncomfortable within the team. Associations between COVID-19 and mental health symptoms were estimated by cumulative logit models and reported as odds ratios. The needed support was our secondary outcome and was reported as the degree to which health-care workers relied on sources of support and how they experienced them. Results All symptoms were significantly more pronounced during versus before COVID-19. For hypervigilance, there was a 12-fold odds (odds ratio 12.24, 95% confidence interval 11.11–13.49) during versus before COVID-19. Positive professional symptoms such as the feeling that one can make a difference were less frequently experienced. The association between COVID-19 and mental health was generally strongest for the age group 30–49 years, females, nurses and residential care centers. Health-care workers reported to rely on support from relatives and peers. A considerable proportion, respectively, 18 and 27%, reported the need for professional guidance from psychologists and more support from their leadership. Conclusions The toll of the crisis has been heavy on health-care workers. Those who carry leadership positions at an organizational or system level should take this opportunity to develop targeted strategies to mitigate key stressors of health-care workers’ mental well-being.

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Economics of mental well-being: a prospective study estimating associated health care costs and sickness benefit transfers in Denmark

The European Journal of Health Economics ◽

10.1007/s10198-021-01305-0 ◽

2021 ◽

Author(s):

Ziggi Ivan Santini ◽

Hannah Becher ◽

Maja Bæksgaard Jørgensen ◽

Michael Davidsen ◽

Line Nielsen ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Health Care ◽

Mental Illness ◽

Healthcare Costs ◽

Psychiatric Morbidity ◽

Government Expenditure ◽

Well Being ◽

Population Based ◽

Sickness Benefit ◽

A Prospective Study ◽

Mental Well Being

Abstract Background Previous literature has examined the societal costs of mental illness, but few studies have estimated the costs associated with mental well-being. In this study, a prospective analysis was conducted on Danish data to determine 1) the association between mental well-being (measured in 2016) and government expenditure in 2017, specifially healthcare costs and sickness benefit transfers. Methods Data stem from a Danish population-based survey of 3,508 adults (aged 16 + years) in 2016, which was linked to Danish registry data. A validated scale (WEMWBS) was used for the assessment of mental well-being. Costs are expressed in USD PPP. A two-part model was applied to predict costs in 2017, adjusting for sociodemographics, health status (including psychiatric morbidity and health behaviour), as well as costs in the previous year (2016). Results Each point increase in mental well-being (measured in 2016) was associated with lower healthcare costs ($− 42.5, 95% CI = $− 78.7, $− 6.3) and lower costs in terms of sickness benefit transfers ($− 23.1, 95% CI = $− 41.9, $− 4.3) per person in 2017. Conclusions Estimated reductions in costs related to mental well-being add to what is already known about potential savings related to the prevention of mental illness. It does so by illustrating the savings that could be made by moving from lower to higher levels of mental well-being both within and beyond the clinical range. Our estimates pertain to costs associated with those health-related outcomes that were included in the study, but excluding other social and economic outcomes and benefits. They cover immediate cost estimates (costs generated the year following mental well-being measurement) and not those that could follow improved mental well-being over the longer term. They may therefore be considered conservative from a societal perspective. Population approaches to mental health promotion are necessary, not only to potentiate disease prevention strategies, but also to reduce costs related to lower levels of mental well-being in the non-mental illness population. Our results suggest that useful reductions in both health care resource use and costs, as well as in costs due to sick leave from the workplace, could be achieved from investment in mental well-being promotion within a year.

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