Evidence map›Paper›PMID 39232710›Full record

ArticleBMC health services research2024

Public health care staff during the COVID-19 pandemic: a comparison of job demands and work functioning between temporary and permanent staff.

Ylse van Dijk, Sarah I M Janus, Michiel R de Boer, Sytse U Zuidema, Sijmen A Reijneveld, Corne A M Roelen

Abstract readComparative Study
In one paragraph

Article in BMC health services research, 2024. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Not yet cited in PubMed.

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1 · What the graph read from it

What it found

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The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.

2 · The registry

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3 · Its place in the literature

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4 · The record

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5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

6 authors.

Ylse van DijkDepartment of Primary and Long-term Care, University of Groningen, University Medical Center Groningen, Groningen, 9700 AD, The Netherlands.
Sarah I M JanusDepartment of Primary and Long-term Care, University of Groningen, University Medical Center Groningen, Groningen, 9700 AD, The Netherlands.
Michiel R de BoerDepartment of Primary and Long-term Care, University of Groningen, University Medical Center Groningen, Groningen, 9700 AD, The Netherlands.
Sytse U ZuidemaDepartment of Primary and Long-term Care, University of Groningen, University Medical Center Groningen, Groningen, 9700 AD, The Netherlands.
Sijmen A ReijneveldDepartment of Health Sciences, University of Groningen, University Medical Center Groningen, Groningen, 9700 AD, The Netherlands.
Corne A M RoelenDepartment of Health Sciences, University of Groningen, University Medical Center Groningen, Groningen, 9700 AD, The Netherlands. c.a.m.roelen@umcg.nl.

Funding

Ministerie van Volksgezondheid, Welzijn en Sport 330562
6 · The paper itself

Abstract

backgroundThe COVID-19 pandemic posed an enormous challenge on the public health workforce, leading to the hiring of much temporary staff. Temporary staff may experience poorer working conditions compared to permanent staff. From a public health perspective, we need to know how working conditions are experienced when there is an acute pressure on recruiting sufficient public health care staff. This study aimed to investigate differences in job demands and work functioning between temporary and permanent public health care staff, during the fourth wave of the COVID-19 pandemic in the Netherlands and compare it with available pre-pandemic data from the general working population.

methodsThis cross-sectional study included temporary (n = 193) and permanent (n = 98) public health care staff from a municipal health care service in the north of the Netherlands. The participants completed a questionnaire with items about quantitative, cognitive, emotional demands (Copenhagen PsychoSOcial Questionnaire, COPSOQ, range 1-100) and work functioning (Work Role Functioning Questionnaire, WRFQ, range 1-100). The participants' scores were compared to the general working population and differences between temporary and permanent staff were investigated using linear regression analysis. In addition, explorative analyses were conducted with temporary staff stratified by task and permanent staff by department.

resultsPermanent staff had relatively high scores on job demands compared to the general working population, whereas temporary staff had relatively low scores. On work functioning, permanent staff had similar scores as the general working population and temporary staff had better scores. Compared to permanent staff, temporary staff had lower, i.e. better, scores on quantitative (regression coefficient (B)=-26.7; 95% Confidence Interval (CI) -30.8 to -22.5), cognitive (B=-24.4; 95% CI -29.0 to -19.9), and emotional demands (B=-11.8; 95% CI -16.0 to -7.7), and better scores on work functioning (B = 7.8; 95% CI 4.5 to 11.3).

conclusionsTemporary staff experienced lower job demands and reported better work functioning than permanent staff. The acute expansion of the public health workforce did not seem to negatively impact the job demands and work functioning of temporary public health care staff.

Indexed as

COVID-19Health PersonnelWorkloadAdultCross-Sectional StudiesFemaleHumansMaleMiddle AgedNetherlandsPandemicsPublic HealthSARS-CoV-2Surveys and QuestionnairesCOVID-19 pandemicPublic health workforceWork force capacity

Identifiers

PMID39232710
PMCPMC11375891

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LicenceCC BY-NC-ND
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Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.