Aim To examine the demographic and work characteristics of mental health workers associated with burnout during the COVID‐19 epidemic and to examine the relationship between burnout and humanistic care ability. Design Online cross‐sectional design. Methods 270 mental health workers in Chongqing, China, were recruited via WeChat from 1 to 31 December 2020. Online self‐administered questionnaires were used to collect data. Data were analyzed by t‐tests and one‐way analyses of variance, Pearson's correlation analysis, and multiple linear regression analysis. Results During the COVID‐19 pandemic, mental health workers had a high prevalence of burnout and a low level of humanistic care ability. Work factors including profession, work shift, work pressure, work‐family conflict, practice environment satisfaction, salary satisfaction, and humanistic care ability were significantly associated with burnout and its subdimension.

ObjectiveThe COVID-19 pandemic has had a significant impact on the burnout and mental health of medical staff. This meta-analysis aims to provide additional (and updated) evidence related to burnout and mental health problems among medical staff using a broader data pool.DesignSystematic review and meta-analysis.Data sourcesPubMed, Embase, Cochrane Library, CNKI, Wanfang data and three preprint databases (SSRN, bioRxiv and medRxiv) were searched from 1 January 2020 to 17 May 2021.Eligibility criteriaWe included observational studies investigating the prevalence of burnout and mental health problems among medical staff during the COVID-19 pandemic, including cross-sectional study, cohort study and case–control study.Data extraction and synthesisTwo independent reviewers used a self-designed form to extract the primary data. The Joanna Briggs Institute quality appraisal tool was used to assess the quality of selected studies. Heterogeneity among studies was assessed by I2statistic. A random-effects model was used to pool the prevalence. Subgroup analysis was performed to explore between-group differences.Results250 studies were included, with a sample of 292 230 participants from 46 countries. The pooled prevalence of burnout, anxiety, depression, insomnia, stress, post-traumatic stress disorder symptoms and somatic symptoms was 43.6% (95% CI 36.3% to 51.2%), 37.1% (95% CI 34.7% to 39.7%), 37.6% (95% CI 35.0% to 40.4%), 43.7% (95% CI 39.1% to 48.5%), 41.3% (95% CI 35.1% to 47.9%), 30.6% (95% CI 23.6% to 38.5%) and 25.0% (95% CI 16.7% to 35.6%), respectively. Subgroup analysis showed a higher prevalence of anxiety, depression and insomnia in frontline workers than in non-frontline workers, and a higher prevalence of anxiety in females than males. Mild cases accounted for the most significant proportion of the outcomes except for stress.ConclusionsThis study highlights that identifying the risks of burnout and mental health problems and adopting preventive interventions are priorities for policymakers and medical staff to avoid long-term occupational, health and social impacts.PROSPERO registration numberCRD42021254425.

Background In psychiatric services, humanistic care ability significantly affects the quality of the therapeutic relationship and thus affects the therapeutic outcomes for patients. Mental health workers may be confronted with more obstacles in humanistic care during the COVID-19 pandemic wherethe authors aimed to explore the capacity level of humanistic care among mental health workers and its potential influencing factors. Method(s) An online cross-sectional survey was conducted among 262 mental health workers working in Chongqing, China, from December 2020 to January 2021. Data were collected by the Caring Ability Inventory (CAI), the Psychological Capital Questionnaire (PCQ-24), the Eysenck Personality Questionnaire-Revised, and the Short Scale for Chinese (EPQ-RSC). Multiple linear regression analysis was used to explore the influencing factors of humanistic care ability. Results Mental health workers’ humanistic care ability is at a low level, with a score of 186.47 ± 21.34. Psychological capital is positively associated with humanistic care ability (β[95%CI] = 0.41 [0.46–0.77], p < 0.001), and its two dimensions (cognition: β[95%CI] = 0.51 [0.30–0.47], p < 0.001; patience: β[95%CI] = 0.48 [0.17–0.28], p < 0.001). Psychoticism is negatively associated with humanistic care ability (β[95%CI] = -0.28 [-5.18 - -2.51], p < 0.001) and its three dimensions (cognition: β[95%CI] = -0.12 [-1.57 - -0.17], p < 0.05; courage: β[95%CI] = -0.17 [-1.7 - -0.32], p < 0.01; patience: β[95%CI] = -0.19 [-1.33 - -0.36], p < 0.01). Extroversion is positively associated with humanistic care ability (β[95%CI] = 0.19 [0.69–2.08], p < 0.001), and its two dimensions (cognition: β[95%CI] = 0.19 [0.32–1.05], p < 0.001; courage: β[95%CI] = 0.27 [0.5–1.23], p < 0.001). Neuroticism is negatively associated with humanistic care ability (β[95%CI] = -0.13[-1.37 - -0.19], p < 0.01) and its one dimension (courage: β[95%CI] = -0.25 [-0.98 - -0.35], p < 0.001). Conclusion(s) The research has found that the humanistic care ability of mental health workers is at a low level, and the psychological capital and personality traits are significant factors influencing the humanistic care ability and its sub-dimensions. Interventions to improve the psychological capital of mental health workers or to promote the change of personality traits they want are recommended, thereby to promote humanistic practice.

In the first wave of infection peak after China officially entered the normalization phase of the COVID-19 pandemic, healthcare workers are facing enormous challenges. This study aims to explore the work engagement and its influencing factors of healthcare workers in maternal and child health institutions in the post-COVID-19 era, as well as possible personal and organizational consequences. In January 2023, an online cross-sectional survey was conducted at maternal and child health institutions in Chongqing, China. Data were collected using the Utrecht Work Engagement Scale (UWES), the Perceived social support scale (PSSS), the Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index (PSQI), and the Depression Anxiety Stress Scale-21 (DASS-21). Descriptive statistics, t-tests, one-way analyses of variance (ANOVAs), Pearson’s correlation analysis, multiple linear regression analysis and chi-square tests were used to analyze the relationship between variables. Among the 411 healthcare workers, most participants reported moderate and high levels of work engagement. Low and moderate work engagement are more prone to anxiety/depression than high work engagement. The higher the level of work engagement, the higher job satisfaction and the lower turnover intention. Gender was associated with absorption. Employment form was associated with work engagement and its two dimensions (vigor and absorption). Preparedness and perceived social support were positively associated with work engagement and its three dimensions. The results call on hospital management to formulate strategies and measures to increase work engagement by providing a supportive work environment for employees in a high-pressure environment such as the pandemics, thereby ensuring their physical and mental health, retaining and attracting qualified employees, and maintaining the stability of the medical team.