Stress and turnover intention among healthcare workers in Saudi Arabia during the time of COVID-19: Can social support play a role?

The turnover intention of healthcare workers is a threat to the competence of health services, especially during COVID-19 time. This study aimed to investigate the association between stress and turnover intention among healthcare workers in Saudi Arabia and whether social support could affect this association. In this cross-sectional study, healthcare workers in primary healthcare centers in Saudi Arabia responded to an online questionnaire assessing their sociodemographic and occupational history, stress levels using the Perceived Stress Scale-10 (PSS-10), social support using the Multidimensional Scale of Perceived Social Support (MSPSS), and turnover intention within the next few months. Path analysis was conducted to assess the mediating effect of social support on the association between stress and turnover intention. A total of 1101 healthcare workers (242 physicians, 340 nurses, 310 paramedics, and 209 administrative workers) participated in this study. The path between stress and support had a significant standardized regression weight (-.34, p < .05). The path between support and turnover had a significant standardized regression weight (.08, p < .05). The standardized total effect of stress on turnover without the impact of support was significant (-.39, p < .05). The direct effect of stress on turnover with the presence of support was significant (-.36, p < .05). The indirect effect of stress on turnover with the presence of support was significant (-.03, p < .05). Thus, there is evidence to show that support mediates the relationship between stress and support. Stress is associated with turnover intention among healthcare workers in Saudi Arabia. Social support had a mitigating effect on the relationship between stress and turnover intention.

Association between role conflict and ambiguity and stress among nurses in primary health care centers in Saudi Arabia during the coronavirus disease 2019 pandemic: A cross-sectional study.

ABSTRACT: This study aimed to assess the association between role conflict and ambiguity among nurses in primary healthcare centers (PHCs) in Saudi Arabia and their stress levels during the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic.In this online cross-sectional study, sociodemographic and occupational characteristics, role conflict, and ambiguity of 432 nurses were assessed using the Bowling Scale for Role Conflict and Ambiguity and stress was assessed using the 10-item Perceived Stress Scale from September 27 to October 17, 2020. Logistic regression was used to calculate odds ratios (ORs) and 95% confidence intervals (CIs) for above-median stress levels of nurses with average and high (2nd and 3rd tertiles) role conflict and ambiguity compared with nurses with low role conflict and ambiguity (1st tertile).The mean (standard deviation) age of the nurses was 36.5 ±â€Š6.6 years, and 25.9% of them were males. After adjusting for PHC type and working hours, nurses with average and high role conflict had significantly higher stress rates than those with low role conflict, with ORs (95% CIs) of 2.69 (1.62-4.46) and 6.31 (3.78-10.53), respectively. Similarly, nurses with average- and high-role ambiguity had significantly higher stress than those with low role ambiguity, with ORs (95% CIs) of 2.15 (1.30-3.55) and 7.68 (4.54-13.01), respectively. Increasing stress rates were detected across increasing categories of role conflict and ambiguity (P values for trend <.001).We found that role conflict and ambiguity were associated with stress among nurses in PHCs in Saudi Arabia during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Factors Affecting COVID-19 Vaccination among the General Population in Saudi Arabia.

Vaccine refusal or hesitancy is one of the significant issues that can have an adverse impact on people's health and their countries' economy. Additionally, vaccine acceptance or refusal could have a decisive role in controlling the COVID-19 pandemic. This study aims to investigate the factors affecting COVID-19 vaccine refusal and hesitancy among the general population in Saudi Arabia. The method is a cross-sectional survey using an online questionnaire, and data were collected from 1935 participants between 18 February 2021 and 1 April 2021. Out of 1935 participants aged ≥18 years and residing in Saudi Arabia, 46.9% reported their intention to receive the COVID-19 vaccine, 22.4% had received the vaccine, 9.5% did not intend to receive the vaccine, and 21.2% had not made their decision. In the multinomial logistic regression models, vaccine refusal was associated with age (OR: 0.961), nationality (OR: 0.182), monthly income of more than SAR 18,000 (OR: 2.325), chronic diseases (OR: 0.521), knowledge about the vaccine (OR: 0.937), and concerns about the vaccine (OR: 1.5). The hesitancy was associated with age (OR: 0.977), nationality (OR: 0.231), monthly income between SAR 6000 to 12,000 (OR: 0.607), chronic diseases (OR: 0.640), knowledge about the vaccine (OR: 0.907), and concerns about the vaccine (OR: 1.3). The main concerns about the vaccine were "COVID-19 vaccines are not tested enough on people", "drug companies are interested in COVID-19 vaccine sales only", and "COVID-19 vaccines have serious adverse effects". Awareness programs and vaccination campaigns should consider people's concerns and correct their misinformation.

Work-Related Challenges among Primary Health Centers Workers during COVID-19 in Saudi Arabia.

This study aimed to identify certain occupational risk factors for stress among healthcare workers (HCWs) during the COVID-19 pandemic. Using a multistage random sampling approach, an online questionnaire was applied to collect data on role conflict and ambiguity, self-esteem and social support from 1378 HCWs working in primary health centers (regular and fever clinics; clinics specialized in managing patients with COVID-19 symptoms) across Saudi Arabia. The results showed that stress correlated positively with role conflict and ambiguity and negatively with social support. HCWs in fever clinics exhibited significantly more stress and role conflict and ambiguity than those who were working in regular primary healthcare centers. In conclusion, role conflict and ambiguity and social support were determinants for stress among HCWs, especially those working in fever clinics.