ArticleBMJ open2021
Challenges facing essential workers: a cross-sectional survey of the subjective mental health and well-being of New Zealand healthcare and 'other' essential workers during the COVID-19 lockdown.
Article in BMJ open, 2021. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. It is linked to trial NCT05052333 (An International Study Examining the Psychosocial Impacts of COVID-19 Pandemic.), which is not on this map. Cited by 25 papers, 1 of them a synthesis that pooled it.
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The trial behind it
Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.
An International Study Examining the Psychosocial Impacts of COVID-19 Pandemic.
Who cites it
25 citing papers in PubMed, 1 synthesis or guideline pooled it.
- Impacts for health and care workers of Covid-19 and other public health emergencies of international concern: living systematic review, meta-analysis and policy recommendations.Human resources for health · 2024Pooled it
- The Mental Health of Essential Workers during the COVID-19 Pandemic: The Role of U.S. State-level Policies.Society and mental health · 2025Article
- Understanding the contribution of primary and community services to health system resilience during the COVID19 Pandemic in Aotearoa, New Zealand: a qualitative interview study.BMC health services research · 2024Article
- VUCA in the present-day health workplace and the mental health and wellbeing of health care workers: a systematic scoping review.BMC health services research · 2024Article
- General practitioner and nurse experiences of type 2 diabetes management and prescribing in primary care: a qualitative review following the introduction of funded SGLT2i/GLP1RA medications in Aotearoa New Zealand.Primary health care research & development · 2024Article
- A SARS-CoV-2 outbreak investigation at a storage and distribution centre in England: an assessment of worker- and workplace-related risk factors.Scientific reports · 2024Article
- Not heading in the right direction: Five hundred psychiatrists' views on resourcing, demand, and workforce across New Zealand mental health services.The Australian and New Zealand journal of psychiatry · 2024Article
- The COVID-19 pandemic, psychologists' professional quality of life and mental health.Frontiers in psychology · 2024Article
- Commonalities and Differences in the Experiences of Visible Minority Transnational Carer-Employees: A Qualitative Study.International journal of environmental research and public health · 2023Article
- Evaluation of the psychological distress and mental well-being of pre-hospital care providers in Saudi Arabia during COVID-19.British paramedic journal · 2023Article
- Examining the psychosocial impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic: an international cross-sectional study protocol.BMJ open · 2023Article
- Doubt in store: vaccine hesitancy among grocery workers during the COVID-19 pandemic.Journal of behavioral medicine · 2023Article
- Precarious Employment and Well-Being: Insights from the COVID-19 Pandemic.Work and occupations · 2023Article
- COVID-19-Related Stressors and Clinical Mental Health Symptoms in a Northeast US Sample.International journal of environmental research and public health · 2023Article
- Developing an mHealth Intervention to Reduce COVID-19-Associated Psychological Distress Among Health Care Workers in Nigeria: Protocol for a Design and Feasibility Study.JMIR research protocols · 2022Article
- 'My Work Matters': A Qualitative Exploration of Why Staff Love Working in Acute Mental Health.International journal of environmental research and public health · 2022Article
- Article
- Pre-pandemic socio-economic status and changes in employment during the first lockdown (2020) on the health of middle-aged people in England: a longitudinal study.BMC public health · 2022Article
- Perceived risk of COVID-19 exposure and poor COVID-19 prognosis impair sleep: The mediating and moderating roles of COVID-19-related anxiety and knowledge.Journal of sleep research · 2022Article
- Destigmatising mental health treatment and increasing openness to seeking treatment: randomised controlled trial of brief video interventions.BJPsych open · 2022Article
Corrections and comments
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Authors and funding
8 authors.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
objectivesTo compare psychological outcomes, experiences and sources of stress over the COVID-19 lockdown in New Zealand in essential workers (healthcare and 'other' essential workers) with that of workers in nonessential work roles.
designOnline cross-sectional survey.
settingConducted in New Zealand over level 4 lockdown in April/May 2020.
participantsFindings from employed participants (2495) are included in this report; 381 healthcare workers, 649 'other' essential workers and 1465 nonessential workers. PRIMARY AND SECONDARY OUTCOME MEASURES: Measures included psychological distress (Kessler Psychological Distress Scale (K10)), anxiety (Generalised Anxiety Disorder (GAD-7)), well-being (WHO-5), alcohol use, subjective experiences and sources of stress. Differences between work categories were quantified as risk ratios or χ
resultsAfter controlling for confounders that differed between groups of essential and nonessential workers, those in healthcare and those in 'other' essential work were at 71% (95% CI 1.29 to 2.27) and 59% (95% CI 1.25 to 2.02) greater risk respectively, of moderate levels of anxiety (GAD-7 ≥10), than those in nonessential work. Those in healthcare were at 19% (95% CI 1.02 to 1.39) greater risk of poor well-being (WHO-5 <13). There was no evidence of differences across work roles in risk for psychological distress (K10 ≥12) or increased alcohol use. Healthcare and 'other' essential workers reported increased workload (p<0.001) and less uncertainty about finances and employment than those in nonessential work (p<0.001). Healthcare and nonessential workers reported decreased social contact. No difference by work category in health concerns was reported; 15% had concerns about participants' own health and 33% about other people's health.
conclusionsDuring the pandemic lockdown, essential workers (those in healthcare and those providing 'other' essential work) were at increased risk of anxiety compared with those in nonessential work, with those in healthcare also being at increased risk of poor well-being. This highlights the need to recognise the challenges this vital workforce face in pandemics.
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