Sense of coherence is linked to post-traumatic growth after critical incidents in Austrian ambulance personnel

Ragger, Klemens; Hiebler‐Ragger, Michaela; Herzog, Günter; Kapfhammer, Hans-Peter; Unterrainer, ­Human-Friedrich

doi:10.1186/s12888-019-2065-z

Cited by 37 publications

(49 citation statements)

References 42 publications

(98 reference statements)

Supporting

Mentioning

Contrasting

Order By: Relevance

“…Some authors suggest that SOC is a favoring factor for the mental health of care providers, as it relates to quality of life and protects against anxiety, depression, and subjective burden [46]. SOC has also been related with the prevention of post-traumatic stress experienced by healthcare professionals [47].…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Sense of Coherence and Psychological Distress Among Healthcare Workers During the COVID-19 Pandemic in Spain

et al. 2020

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

The health crisis triggered by COVID-19 and the preventive measures taken to control it have caused a strong psychological impact on the population, especially on healthcare professionals. Risk exposure, uncertainty about how to approach the disease, care and emotional overburden, lack of resources, or unclear ever-changing protocols are, among others, psychological distress risk factors for the healthcare professionals who have faced this dramatic scenario on the front line. On the other hand, the Sense of Coherence (SOC) is a competence that could help these professionals perceive the situation as understandable, manageable, and meaningful, facilitating the activation of their resilience. This work aims to describe the levels of psychological distress and SOC of healthcare professionals during the crisis caused by COVID-19, the relationship between both variables, and their health status. A cross-sectional descriptive study with a sample of 1459 currently active healthcare workers was developed. GHQ-12 and SOC-13 were used for data collection. Bivariate analyses were performed, including Chi-Squared Test, Student’s T-Test, Analysis of Variance—ANOVA (with Bonferroni test for multiple comparisons), and correlations. Cohen’s d or Cramer’s V effect size measurements were also provided. The results showed that 80.6% of healthcare professionals had psychological distress, and the mean score on the SOC-13 scale was 62.8 points (SD = 12.02). Both psychological distress and SOC were related to the presence of COVID-19 symptoms, as well as with contact history. Professionals with psychological distress showed a lower SOC. Taking care of the mental health of healthcare professionals is essential to effectively cope with the COVID-19 pandemic. Given the psychological impact of working in the current menacing scenario, people on the front line against the disease should be protected, minimizing risks, providing them with resources and support, and fostering their coping skills.

show abstract

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Sense of Coherence and Psychological Distress Among Healthcare Workers During the COVID-19 Pandemic in Spain

et al. 2020

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

show abstract

“…Consequently, some of the discussed factors may become subordinate as they might only explain minor proportions of redundant variance. Moreover, such studies should also include posttraumatic growth as an outcome measure since it is associated with both health-promoting factors [27] and psychopathological symptoms [102]. Furthermore, there is a strong need for longitudinal studies in representative samples addressing the predictive value of several health-promoting factors across a longer time.…”

Section: Future Researchmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Moreover, recent meta-analyses underline SOC's role as a correlate of posttraumatic stress symptoms in various populations [25] and as a determinate of carer well-being in home care settings [26]. Consequently, higher levels of SOC are associated with lower levels of psychopathological symptoms [24] and enhanced posttraumatic growth [27] in medical staff. Similar associations of SOC and mental health problems have also been demonstrated for police officers [28] and firefighters [29].…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Correlates of mental health in occupations at risk for traumatization: a cross-sectional study

et al. 2020

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Background: Hospitals, police stations, and fire departments are highly demanding workplaces. Staff members are regularly exposed to various stressors including traumatic events. Correspondingly, several studies report high rates of mental health issues among these occupations. Nevertheless, despite these challenging circumstances, some staff members manage to sustain their mental health. The current study is the first to investigate three healthpromoting factors simultaneously among three different, highly demanding occupations. Methods: The present cross-sectional survey investigated health-promoting factors (sense of coherence-SOC, trait-resilience, locus of control-LOC) and mental health outcomes (general psychopathological symptom burden, posttraumatic stress, burnout) in medical staff (n = 223), police officers (n = 257), and firefighters (n = 100). Results: Among all occupations, SOC, trait-resilience, and an internal LOC were negatively associated with general psychopathological symptoms, posttraumatic stress, and burnout symptoms. By contrast, all these outcome measures were positively correlated with an external LOC. Multiple regression models including all healthpromoting factors explained 56% of the variance in general psychopathological symptoms and 27% in posttraumatic stress symptoms. Among all occupations, SOC was the strongest predictor of both general psychopathological symptom burden and posttraumatic stress symptoms. Multigroup path analyses revealed minor differences across occupations, mainly driven by a stronger influence of LOC in police officers. Conclusion: Across all occupations, SOC was identified as the most important health-promoting factor. Future longitudinal studies should further examine the causal link between health-promoting factors and mental distress in different workplaces. Such studies will also allow for further development and evaluation of resilience promoting programs.

show abstract

“…Consequently, some of the discussed factors may become subordinate as they might only explain minor proportions of redundant variance. Furthermore, such studies should also include posttraumatic growth as an outcome measure as it has been shown to be associated with both health-benefitting factors [27] and psychopathological symptoms [96].…”

Section: Future Researchmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Moreover, recent metaanalyses underline SOC's role as a correlate of posttraumatic stress symptoms in various populations [25] and as a determinate of carer well-being in informal care-giving [26]. Consequently, higher levels of SOC are associated with lower levels of psychopathological symptoms [24] and enhanced posttraumatic growth [27] in medical staff. Similar associations of SOC and mental health problems have also been demonstrated for police officers [28] and firefighters [29].…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Correlates of mental health in occupations at risk for traumatization: A cross-sectional study

Schäfer

Sopp

Staginnus

et al. 2020

Preprint

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Background Hospitals, police stations, and fire departments are highly demanding work places. Staff members are regularly exposed to various stressors including traumatic events. Correspondingly, several studies report high rates of mental health issues among these occupations. Nevertheless, despite these challenging circumstances, some staff members manage to sustain their mental health. The current study is the first to investigate correlates of mental health among three different highly demanding occupations. Methods The present cross-sectional survey investigated health-benefitting factors (sense of coherence – SOC, trait resilience, locus of control – LOC) and psychopathological symptoms (general mental health problems, posttraumatic stress, burnout) in medical staff ( n = 223), police officers ( n = 257), and firefighters ( n = 100). Results Among all occupations, SOC, trait resilience, and an internal LOC were negatively associated with general mental health problems, posttraumatic stress, and burnout symptoms. By contrast, all these outcome measures were positively correlated with an external LOC. Multiple regression models including all health-benefitting factors as predictors explained 56% of the variance in general mental health problems and 27% in posttraumatic stress symptoms. Among all occupations, SOC was the strongest predictor of both general mental health problems and posttraumatic stress symptoms. Multigroup path analyses revealed minor differences across occupations, mainly driven by a stronger influence of LOC in police officers. Conclusion Across all occupations, SOC was identified as the most important health-benefitting factor. Future longitudinal studies should further examine the causal link between health-benefitting factors and mental distress in different work places. Such studies will also allow for further development and evaluation of resilience promoting programs.

show abstract

Sense of coherence is linked to post-traumatic growth after critical incidents in Austrian ambulance personnel

Cited by 37 publications

References 42 publications

Sense of Coherence and Psychological Distress Among Healthcare Workers During the COVID-19 Pandemic in Spain

Sense of Coherence and Psychological Distress Among Healthcare Workers During the COVID-19 Pandemic in Spain

Correlates of mental health in occupations at risk for traumatization: a cross-sectional study

Correlates of mental health in occupations at risk for traumatization: A cross-sectional study

Contact Info

Product

Resources

About