Psychosocial Workloads and Resilience of Heads of Municipal Public Health Authorities in Germany During the COVID-19 Pandemic: Perceptions of Operational Organization, Communication, and Measures

Int J Environ Res Public Health. 2024 Oct 26;21(11):1421. doi: 10.3390/ijerph21111421.

Abstract

Healthcare professionals are particularly vulnerable to mental health issues during epidemics, as evidenced by the COVID-19 crisis. German public health authorities, crucial for disease prevention, faced significant strain from chronic understaffing and resource limitations exacerbated by the pandemic. The study was designed as a cross-sectional, observational online survey. This study conducted an online needs assessment survey among heads of municipal public health authorities in Thuringia, Saxony, North Rhine-Westphalia, Bavaria, and Berlin between June and November 2023. Of the 191 contacted authorities, 74 responses (38.7%) were analyzed, focusing on professional demands, recognition, stress resilience, general life satisfaction, operational organization, and communication during the pandemic. Validated scales such as ERI, RS-13, L-1, and the COVID-19 add-on module of the COPSOQ were utilized. Statistical tests included descriptive statistics, correlation coefficients, Chi-Square tests, linear regression, T-tests, and ANOVA with a significance level set at p < 0.05. Respondents were mainly from North Rhine-Westphalia (43.3%) and Bavaria (24.3%), predominantly female (54.1%), and had a mean age of 52.7 years. The majority were medical specialists (71.9%). The RS-13 mean score was 72.66 (SD = 12.42), with 58.9% demonstrating high stress resilience. Public health degree holders showed the highest resilience. The ER-ratio indicated high effort versus reward for 96.7% of heads. Larger districts showed lower ER-ratios, suggesting resilient organizational structures. The study highlights high psychosocial workload and resilience among German public health authority heads during COVID-19, suggesting the need for optimized crisis management and scalable staffing for future pandemics and crises.

Keywords: COVID-19 pandemic; crisis management; municipal public health authorities; organizational resilience; outreach teams; psychosocial workload; resilience resources.

Publication types

  • Observational Study

MeSH terms

  • Adult
  • COVID-19* / epidemiology
  • COVID-19* / psychology
  • Communication
  • Cross-Sectional Studies
  • Female
  • Germany / epidemiology
  • Health Personnel / psychology
  • Health Personnel / statistics & numerical data
  • Humans
  • Male
  • Middle Aged
  • Pandemics
  • Public Health
  • Resilience, Psychological*
  • SARS-CoV-2
  • Surveys and Questionnaires
  • Workload* / psychology

Grants and funding

Funding is provided by the BMBF (Federal Ministry of Education and Research) joint project SARS-CoV-2Dx sub-project: Health emergency preparedness/Pandemic management and early detection (Funding number: FKZ13N15745).