Association between engagement in COVID-19-related work and depressive symptoms among hospital workers in a designated COVID-19 hospital in Japan: a cross-sectional study

Abstract

ObjectivesTo examine whether engagement in COVID-19-related work was associated with an increased prevalence of depressive symptoms among the staff members working in a designated medical institution for COVID-19 in Tokyo, Japan.DesignA cross-sectional study.SettingData were obtained from a health survey conducted in July 2020 among the staff members of a designated medical institution for COVID-19 in Tokyo, Japan.ParticipantsA total of 1228 hospital workers.Exposure of interestEngagement in COVID-19-related work (qualitatively (ie, the risk of SARS-CoV-2 infection at work or affiliation to related departments) as well as quantitatively (ie, working hours)) and job categories.Outcome measuresDepressive symptoms.ResultsThere was no significant association between depressive symptoms and engagement in work with potential exposure to SARS-CoV-2 or affiliation to COVID-19-related departments. However, working for longer hours in March/April, when Japan witnessed a large number of infected cases, was significantly associated with depressive symptoms (≥11 hours/day: prevalence ratio (PR)=1.45, 95% CI=1.06 to 1.99, compared with ≤8 hours/day). Nurses were more likely to exhibit depressive symptoms than did doctors (PR=1.70, 95% CI=1.14 to 2.54).ConclusionsThis study suggests that the risk of SARS-CoV-2 infection at work or having an affiliation to related departments might not be linked with a higher prevalence of depressive symptoms among Japanese hospital workers; contrarily, long working hours appeared to increase the prevalence of depressive symptoms.

Association between long working hours and psychological distress: The effect of sick leave criteria in the workplace during the COVID-19 pandemic

“…Workers without sick leave criteria had a significantly higher risk of psychological distress due to long working hours than those who worked with the criteria. As mentioned earlier, previous studies reported that long working hours resulted in deteriorating mental health during the COVID-19 pandemic 6,7 , and the setting of sick leave criteria would be particularly important for mental health among other COVID-19 infection control measures 2, 3 . Our study extends prior findings by revealing that the absence of sick leave criteria in the workplace could result in a stronger association between long working hours and psychological distress.…”

“…While numerous studies during the COVID-19 pandemic have revealed the association between long working hours and mental health, a majority of such studies have been conducted on healthcare workers. For example, a cross-sectional study in a Japanese healthcare institution showed that increasing working hours might be a risk factor for depression among nurses 6 . Further, a prior cross-sectional study conducted in foreign countries (i.e., not including Japan) found that job strain, including increased working hours, was the most significant psychosocial stressor among German healthcare workers 7 .…”

Exploration of The Impact of The COVID-19 Pandemic on The Mental Health of Home Health Care Workers in Japan: A Multicenter Cross-Sectional Web-Based Survey

“…In the absence of speci c and validated instruments for evaluating the support currently received and the support needs of home-HCWs during the COVID-19 pandemic, we developed an original questionnaire based on data from previous studies and discussion among the authors of this study (5,17,18). An example of a question and answer about support currently received is "I have been provided with expert on-site infection control guidance: yes/no", and an example of a question and answer about support needs is "The need for experts to provide on-site infection control guidance" with a 6-point Likert scale answer -"not needed at all" "not needed" "little need" "some need" "needed" and "very much needed".…”

“…Yamamoto et al con rmed the validity and reliability of two subscales in J-AITCS-II (15), i.e., Patient-centered collaborative care and Teamwork in healthcare professionals. Based on previous studies and discussion among the authors, we measured the subscale of Teamwork in healthcare professionals as a participant characteristic (5,17,18).…”

Is there an association between ABO blood types and depressive symptoms among Japanese healthcare workers during the COVID-19 pandemic?

“…We selected the following covariates based on the epidemiological evidence for their association with the risk of depression: body mass index (BMI) [21], smoking status [22], alcohol consumption [23,24], leisure-time physical activity [25], comorbid chronic conditions [26], occupation [4], working hours [27], and sleep duration [28] and engagement in Covid-19 related work [29].…”