Associations between COVID-19 Work-Related Stressors and Posttraumatic Stress Symptoms among Chinese Doctors and Nurses: Application of Stress-Coping Theory

Rui She, Lijuan Li, Qian Yang, Jianyan Lin, Xiaoli Ye, Suliu Wu, Zhenggui Yang, Suzhen Guan, Jianxin Zhang, Rachel Hau Yin Ling and Joseph Tak Fai Lau
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Rui She: Centre for Health Behaviours Research, JC School of Public Health and Primary Care, The Chinese University of Hong Kong, New Territory, Hong Kong, China
Lijuan Li: School of Public Health, Dali University, Dali 671000, China
Qian Yang: Center for Health Policy Studies, Department of Endocrinology, School of Public Health, Children’s Hospital, National Clinical Research Center for Child Health, Zhejiang University School of Medicine, Hangzhou 310003, China
Jianyan Lin: The Fourth People’s Hospital of Nanning, Nanning 530023, China
Xiaoli Ye: The Children’s Hospital Zhejiang University School of Medicine, Hangzhou 310003, China
Suliu Wu: Wuyi First People’s Hospital, Jinhua 321200, China
Zhenggui Yang: No. 4 Hospital of Ningxia Hui Autonomous Region, Yinchuan 750021, China
Suzhen Guan: Key Laboratory of Environmental Factors and Chronic Disease Control, School of Public Health and Management, Ningxia Medical University, Yinchuan 750004, China
Jianxin Zhang: Huaxi School of Public Health, Sichuan University, Chengdu 610041, China
Rachel Hau Yin Ling: Centre for Health Behaviours Research, JC School of Public Health and Primary Care, The Chinese University of Hong Kong, New Territory, Hong Kong, China
Joseph Tak Fai Lau: Centre for Health Behaviours Research, JC School of Public Health and Primary Care, The Chinese University of Hong Kong, New Territory, Hong Kong, China

IJERPH, 2022, vol. 19, issue 10, 1-15

Abstract: Healthcare workers are vulnerable to posttraumatic stress symptoms (PTSS) due to stressful work during the COVID-19 pandemic. This study aimed to investigate whether the associations between COVID-19 work-related stressors and PTSS would be mediated by maladaptive and adaptive coping strategies and moderated by perceived family support based on stress-coping theory. An anonymous online survey was conducted among 1449 doctors and nurses in five hospitals in China between October and November 2020 during the “post-outbreak” period. The prevalence of PTSS assessed by the Posttraumatic Symptom Scale Self-Report was 42%. Logistic regression analysis revealed that worries about being infected with COVID-19, perceived difficulties in family caregiving, coping strategies of rumination, catastrophizing, acceptance, and perceived family support were independently associated with PTSS. Furthermore, maladaptive and adaptive coping partially mediated the association between COVID-19 work-related stressors and PTSS.The results of multi-group analyses showed that perceived family support tended to intensify the associations between COVID-19 work-related stressors and adaptive coping and between adaptive coping and PTSS, whereas perceived family support attenuated the positive association between COVID-19 work-related stressors and PTSS. The findings suggest tailor-made health interventions with respect to alleviation of work-related stressors and coping skill training to reduce the risk of PTSS among healthcare workers, especially for those with lower perceived family support.

Keywords: COVID-19; healthcare workers; posttraumatic stress symptoms; stress-coping theory; China (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: I I1 I3 Q Q5 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2022
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