Psychosocial Workloads and Resilience of Heads of Municipal Public Health Authorities in Germany During the COVID-19 Pandemic: Perceptions of Operational Organization, Communication, and Measures

Veit Kinne (), Sabine Trommer, Dragisa Mitic, Sandra Ehrenberg, Annette Jurke, Nora-Lynn Schwerdtner, Astrid van der Wall, Nicoletta Wischnewski and Frank Kipp
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Veit Kinne: Institute for Infectious Diseases and Infection Control, Jena University Hospital, 07747 Jena, Germany
Sabine Trommer: Institute for Infectious Diseases and Infection Control, Jena University Hospital, 07747 Jena, Germany
Dragisa Mitic: Institute for Infectious Diseases and Infection Control, Jena University Hospital, 07747 Jena, Germany
Sandra Ehrenberg: Corporate Development, Medical University of Lausitz—Carl Thiem, 03048 Cottbus, Germany
Annette Jurke: NRW Centre for Health, Infectious Disease Epidemiology, 44802 Bochum, Germany
Nora-Lynn Schwerdtner: Saxon State Ministry for Social Affairs and Cohesion, 01097 Dresden, Germany
Astrid van der Wall: Center for Rare Diseases, Jena University Hospital, 07747 Jena, Germany
Nicoletta Wischnewski: District Office Charlottenburg-Wilmersdorf of Berlin, Public Health Authority, 10713 Berlin, Germany
Frank Kipp: Institute for Infectious Diseases and Infection Control, Jena University Hospital, 07747 Jena, Germany

IJERPH, 2024, vol. 21, issue 11, 1-17

Abstract: Healthcare professionals are particularly vulnerable to mental health issues during epidemics, as evidenced by the COVID-19 crisis. German public health authorities, crucial for disease prevention, faced significant strain from chronic understaffing and resource limitations exacerbated by the pandemic. The study was designed as a cross-sectional, observational online survey. This study conducted an online needs assessment survey among heads of municipal public health authorities in Thuringia, Saxony, North Rhine-Westphalia, Bavaria, and Berlin between June and November 2023. Of the 191 contacted authorities, 74 responses (38.7%) were analyzed, focusing on professional demands, recognition, stress resilience, general life satisfaction, operational organization, and communication during the pandemic. Validated scales such as ERI, RS-13, L-1, and the COVID-19 add-on module of the COPSOQ were utilized. Statistical tests included descriptive statistics, correlation coefficients, Chi-Square tests, linear regression, T-tests, and ANOVA with a significance level set at p < 0.05. Respondents were mainly from North Rhine-Westphalia (43.3%) and Bavaria (24.3%), predominantly female (54.1%), and had a mean age of 52.7 years. The majority were medical specialists (71.9%). The RS-13 mean score was 72.66 ( SD = 12.42), with 58.9% demonstrating high stress resilience. Public health degree holders showed the highest resilience. The ER-ratio indicated high effort versus reward for 96.7% of heads. Larger districts showed lower ER-ratios, suggesting resilient organizational structures. The study highlights high psychosocial workload and resilience among German public health authority heads during COVID-19, suggesting the need for optimized crisis management and scalable staffing for future pandemics and crises.

Keywords: municipal public health authorities; psychosocial workload; resilience resources; organizational resilience; COVID-19 pandemic; crisis management; outreach teams (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: I I1 I3 Q Q5 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2024
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