Abstract:The aim of the study was to explore workforce experiences of the rapid implementation of a SARS-CoV-2 asymptomatic testing service (ATS) in a higher education setting during the COVID-19 pandemic. The setting was a multi-campus university in the UK, which hosted a testing service for employees and students over two years. Qualitative semi-structured videoconference interviews were conducted. We contacted 58 participants and 25 were interviewed (43% response rate). Data were analysed thematically. The analysis … Show more
“…Within the ATS, transformational leadership (e.g., influencing, transforming, and inspiring others), a distributed leadership style (e.g., where teams share responsibility and work towards a common goal) and proactive individual and team behaviour facilitated the implementation of the service. The impact of university investment in employee development through the ATS is evident in our data and interrogated elsewhere [ 49 ].…”
Asymptomatic testing for SARS-CoV-2 RNA has been used to prevent and manage COVID-19 outbreaks in university settings, but few studies have explored their implementation. The aim of the study was to evaluate how an accredited asymptomatic SARS-CoV-2 testing service (ATS) was implemented at the University of Nottingham, a multi-campus university in England, to identify barriers and enablers of implementation and to draw out lessons for implementing pandemic response initiatives in higher education settings. A qualitative interview study was conducted with 25 ATS personnel between May and July 2022. Interviews were conducted online, audio-recorded, and transcribed. Participants were asked about their experience of the ATS, barriers and enablers of implementation. Transcripts were thematically analysed. There were four overarching themes: (1) social responsibility and innovation, (2) when, how and why people accessed testing, (3) impact of the ATS on the spread of COVID-19, and (4) lessons learned for the future. In establishing the service, the institution was seen to be valuing its community and socially responsible. The service was viewed to be broadly successful as a COVID-19 mitigation approach. Challenges to service implementation were the rapidly changing pandemic situation and government advice, delays in service accreditation and rollout to staff, ambivalence towards testing and isolating in the target population, and an inability to provide follow-up support for positive cases within the service. Facilitators included service visibility, reduction in organisational bureaucracy and red tape, inclusive leadership, collaborative working with regular feedback on service status, flexibility in service delivery approaches and simplicity of saliva testing. The ATS instilled a perception of early ‘return to normality’ and impacted positively on staff feelings of safety and wellbeing, with wider benefits for healthcare services and local communities. In conclusion, we identified common themes that have facilitated or hindered the implementation of a SARS-CoV-2 testing service at a university in England. Lessons learned from ATS implementation will inform future pandemic response interventions in higher education settings.
“…Within the ATS, transformational leadership (e.g., influencing, transforming, and inspiring others), a distributed leadership style (e.g., where teams share responsibility and work towards a common goal) and proactive individual and team behaviour facilitated the implementation of the service. The impact of university investment in employee development through the ATS is evident in our data and interrogated elsewhere [ 49 ].…”
Asymptomatic testing for SARS-CoV-2 RNA has been used to prevent and manage COVID-19 outbreaks in university settings, but few studies have explored their implementation. The aim of the study was to evaluate how an accredited asymptomatic SARS-CoV-2 testing service (ATS) was implemented at the University of Nottingham, a multi-campus university in England, to identify barriers and enablers of implementation and to draw out lessons for implementing pandemic response initiatives in higher education settings. A qualitative interview study was conducted with 25 ATS personnel between May and July 2022. Interviews were conducted online, audio-recorded, and transcribed. Participants were asked about their experience of the ATS, barriers and enablers of implementation. Transcripts were thematically analysed. There were four overarching themes: (1) social responsibility and innovation, (2) when, how and why people accessed testing, (3) impact of the ATS on the spread of COVID-19, and (4) lessons learned for the future. In establishing the service, the institution was seen to be valuing its community and socially responsible. The service was viewed to be broadly successful as a COVID-19 mitigation approach. Challenges to service implementation were the rapidly changing pandemic situation and government advice, delays in service accreditation and rollout to staff, ambivalence towards testing and isolating in the target population, and an inability to provide follow-up support for positive cases within the service. Facilitators included service visibility, reduction in organisational bureaucracy and red tape, inclusive leadership, collaborative working with regular feedback on service status, flexibility in service delivery approaches and simplicity of saliva testing. The ATS instilled a perception of early ‘return to normality’ and impacted positively on staff feelings of safety and wellbeing, with wider benefits for healthcare services and local communities. In conclusion, we identified common themes that have facilitated or hindered the implementation of a SARS-CoV-2 testing service at a university in England. Lessons learned from ATS implementation will inform future pandemic response interventions in higher education settings.
“…Psychological security refers to employees' positive perceptions and judgments that the environment they are in is safe enough (Edmondson, 1999), all of which are footstone steading well-performing individual/teams (Hackman & Hackman, 2002;Blake et al, 2022;Greenbaum et al, 2020). Research has shown that employees who feel psychologically safe are better equipped to handle challenging job demands and this psychological environment has a significant positive impact on their job skills and employability (Plomp, Tims, Khapova, Jansen, & Bakker, 2019).…”
Section: The Mediating Role Of Psychological Securitymentioning
Drawing on the conversation of resource theory, this study investigated the relationship between academic justice climate and their employability. We considered the potential mediating role of researchers' psychological security and moderating role of their resilience. Using two-wave time-lagged data collected from 432 researchers in universities and research insinuations in China, we found that academic justice climate was positively related to researchers' employability via increased psychological security. Resilience alleviated the positive relationship between academic justice climate and psychological security, and the mediating effect of academic justice climate on employability through enhanced psychological security. We discuss the theoretical and practical implications of these findings in final.
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