Mental Health Problems in Chinese Healthcare Workers Exposed to Workplace Violence During the COVID-19 Outbreak: A Cross-Sectional Study Using Propensity Score Matching Analysis

Wei Wang; Lili Lu; Mohammedhamid Mohammedosman Kelifa; Yan Yu; Anqi He; Na Cao; Si Zheng; Wenjun Yan; Yinmei Yang

doi:10.2147/RMHP.S279170

Mental Health Problems in Chinese Healthcare Workers Exposed to Workplace Violence During the COVID-19 Outbreak: A Cross-Sectional Study Using Propensity Score Matching Analysis

Risk Manag Healthc Policy. 2020 Dec 3:13:2827-2833. doi: 10.2147/RMHP.S279170. eCollection 2020.

Authors

Wei Wang^#¹, Lili Lu^#², Mohammedhamid Mohammedosman Kelifa³, Yan Yu³, Anqi He³, Na Cao³, Si Zheng³, Wenjun Yan¹, Yinmei Yang³

Affiliations

¹ School of Public Health, Xuzhou Medical University, Xuzhou, People's Republic of China.
² Department of Gastroenterology, The Affiliated Hospital of Xuzhou Medical University, Xuzhou, People's Republic of China.
³ School of Health Sciences, Wuhan University, Wuhan, People's Republic of China.

^# Contributed equally.

Abstract

Objective: This study aimed at examining the effect of medical workplace violence (MWV) on the mental health of Chinese healthcare workers during the outbreak of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19).

Methods: An anonymous online survey was issued to Chinese healthcare workers (N=1063) from 31 provinces and autonomous regions between February 13th and February 20th. Mental health was measured by the Chinese Depression Anxiety Stress Scales-21 (DASS-21). Medical workplace violence was measured using a single item, whether any type of workplace violence was experienced during the COVID-19 outbreak. Propensity score matching was used to assess the impact of MWV on mental health.

Results: Out of 1063, 217 (20.4%) reported experiencing MWV during the COVID-19 outbreak. Before matching, MWV was correlated with elevated mental health problems (b=8.248, p<0.001), after adjusting for other variables. After matching, Chinese healthcare workers who experienced MWV were more likely to suffer from mental health problems than those who did not.

Conclusion: MWV exerts a detrimental effect on mental health among Chinese healthcare workers during the COVID-19 outbreak. It is necessary to create a more supportive and safer work environment for healthcare workers at this special context of the COVID-19 outbreak.

Keywords: COVID-19; mental health; propensity score; workplace violence.

Grants and funding

This study was supported by The Postdoctoral research fund of Jiangsu Province [grant number 2020Z177] and China Association for Science and Technology [20200608CG080611].