Background The aim of this study is to explore factors influencing the study engagement of health and social professions students during the COVID-19 pandemic. While antecedents of study engagement have been studied previously, the factors influencing engagement under pandemic conditions have not yet been investigated. Furthermore, there is a particular need for research among students in health and social professions programs, as these students are particularly affected by the pandemic. As theoretical basis, the study draws on the demands-resources-theory. It is hypothesized that pandemic-related study and personal resources drive engagement during the pandemic, and that pandemic-related demands negatively influence engagement. Method The study uses a cross-sectional survey to explore the hypothesized effects. The sample consists of 559 university students of health and social professions in Germany. The study was carried out in July 2020, towards the end of the first digital semester and after the first peak in COVID-19 cases. Data are analyzed using linear multiple regression analysis. Results The findings show that the demands-resources-theory is suitable to explain study engagement even under pandemic conditions. Suitable digital learning formats and social support are identified as important study resources for study engagement during major life events, while emotional resilience, active self-care and academic self-efficacy are identified as important personal resources. Conclusions Under pandemic conditions academic institutions should focus on providing beneficial teaching formats and innovative ways to support students lacking social networks. Besides, they should consider developing means to help students structuring daily life as well as establishing initiatives to strengthen students’ self-efficacy beliefs.
Zusammenfassung. Hintergrund: Die Corona-Pandemie führte zu einer starken Beanspruchung von Health Professionals, deren allgemeine berufliche Situation mit einem hohem Belastungserleben verbunden ist. Quantitative Daten zum Belastungserleben der im Gesundheitswesen Tätigen in der Corona-Pandemie und mögliche Auswirkungen auf das Arbeitsengagement fehlen bis dato für Deutschland. Methode: Mittels einer Querschnittsbefragung wurden das Stresserleben, die Sorge um die Gesundheit und das Arbeitsengagement von Health Professionals deutschlandweit erhoben. Das „snapshot survey“ nutzte neben selbst entwickelten Fragen Items eines validierten Instrumentes zur Erfassung des Arbeitsengagements. Über soziale Medien wurden in Form einer Gelegenheitsstichprobe Health Professionals zur Teilnahme eingeladen. Es konnten 1168 gültige Fälle ausgewertet werden. Die Teilnehmenden waren mehrheitlich Pflegende (80 %, n = 855). Ergebnisse: Es zeigt sich, dass Health Professionals mit Direktkontakt zu COVID-19-Erkrankten im Gegensatz zu Befragten ohne Kontakt ein höheres Stresslevel angeben (MW = 3,81, SD = 1,09 vs. MW = 3,44, SD = 1,12, t(1062) = 5,40, p < 0,001; ε = 0,33), sich am meisten Sorgen um die Gesundheit ihrer Angehörigen sowie von Freundinnen und Freunden machen und dass diese Sorgen größer als bei Health Professionals ohne Kontakt sind (MW = 4,45, SD = 0,84 vs. MW = 4,19, SD = 0,94, t(1062) = 4,74, p < 0,001; ε = 0,29). Die Korrelationsanalysen (r = –0,182, p < 0,001) und die multiple Regressionsanalyse (β = –0,182, p < 0,001) ergaben, dass das Arbeitsengagement mit steigendem, pandemiebedingtem Stress abnimmt. Diskussion: Es zeigen sich theoriekonforme Zusammenhänge zwischen Anforderungen, Stresserleben und Arbeitsengagement. Im Vergleich zu früheren Studien ist das Arbeitsengagement in der Stichprobe gering. Zur Reduktion psychischer Belastungsfaktoren in einer Pandemie liegen vielfältige Empfehlungen vor, die nun auch in der Breite für Deutschland zur Anwendung kommen sollten. Hierzu zählen beispielsweise pandemiespezifische Präventionspläne oder die Schaffung eines sanktionsfreien Arbeitsumfeldes.
The COVID-19 pandemic has been a challenging period of upheaval for higher education students. This study aims to assess the factors associated with psychological stress during the COVID-19 pandemic among a sample of students in health-related fields at Munich universities in Germany. Students (n = 623) from KSH Munich and LMU Munich completed an online cross-sectional survey. Information on demographics and academic and everyday difficulties due to the COVID-19 pandemic as well as data on physical and mental health were collected. Multivariable logistic regression analyses were performed to identify factors associated with the outcome. The prevalence for higher psychological stress was 44% among the study population. Factors associated with higher psychological stress were: lower overall life satisfaction (p < 0.0001), worsened health situation (p < 0.0001), lack of social support (p = 0.0301) and social interaction (p = 0.0115), worries about financial difficulties due to loss of income (p = 0.0134), stressful thoughts about a second wave (p < 0.0001), feeling unable to positively influence the situation (p = 0.0262) and study-related effects, such as perceived study burden (p = 0.0003) and likely delay in studies (p = 0.0178)). The COVID-19 pandemic is having a significant negative impact on the mental health of students in health-related fields. Proactive efforts to support the mental health and well-being of students are needed.
Introduction The aging of staff and skill shortage are major challenges for social enterprises. Nurturing a workplace culture of health and fostering employee engagement could be starting points to combat these challenges. The associations between these two factors have received comparatively little attention from the scientific community, in particular with regard to social enterprises. Hence, this study aims to examine those associations, drawing on the job demands-resources theory and the social-ecological workplace culture of health model. It is hypothesized that employees’ self-rated health acts as a mediator in the relationship between culture of health and employee engagement and that health as personal value works as a moderator. Method The study used the Workplace Culture of Health scale to measure culture of health in social enterprises and UWES-9 to assess employee engagement. Data was collected administering a quantitative online survey among employees of social enterprises in Germany. The dataset for analyses comprised N = 172 employees in total. Data analyses included Pearson’s correlations, regression analysis, as well as mediation, moderation and moderated mediation analyses. Results Culture of health is a predictor of employee engagement in social enterprises. The analyses demonstrate a moderate association between culture of health and employee engagement. Indications were found that employees’ self-rated health acts as a mediator and that health as personal value acts as a moderator between culture of health and employee engagement in social enterprises. Discussion This study suggests that fostering a culture of health in social enterprises does not only have a positive effect on employee health, but also on employee engagement. This applies in particular when employees attribute great value to their health, which is to be expected even more in future. Hence, nurturing a culture of health becomes a pivotal management task in social enterprises. Moreover, a comprehensive assessment of the benefits of health promotion programs in social enterprises should not only consider their health-related outcomes, but also factor in their impact on employee engagement.
Content marketing has gained momentum around the world and is steadily gaining importance in the marketing mix of organizations. Nevertheless, it has received comparatively little attention from the scientific community. In particular, there is very little knowledge about the effectiveness, optimal design and implementation of content marketing. In this study, the authors conceptualize content marketing as a set of activities that are embedded in and contingent on the specific organizational context. Based on this framework, the authors empirically investigate the context features determining content marketing effectiveness from a managerial perspective, using primary data collected from senior marketers in 263 organizations from various sectors and across different size categories, conducting multiple regression analysis. The empirical results indicate that clarity and commitment regarding content marketing strategy and a content production in line with the organization’s target groups’ content needs as well as normative journalistic quality criteria are context factors associated with higher content marketing effectiveness. The outcomes also reveal that regularly measuring content marketing performance and using the data obtained as guidance for improving content offerings positively influence content marketing effectiveness, as do structural specialization and specialization-enabling processes and systems. The insights provided in this study could offer important theoretical contributions for research on content marketing and its effectiveness and may help practitioners to optimize the design and implementation of content marketing initiatives.
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