ABSTRACT
IntroductionWork-family conflict is a public health concern due to the effects it has on the health of family members and on the work life and performance. During the COVID-19 pandemic work-family boundary management was a challenge for workers, with important consequences to the conflict between both domains, and was crucial for well-being at work and for a full and healthy experience of family life. This study aims to understand the relationship between work-family boundary management and work-family conflict and how they influence satisfaction with family life in both genders.Material and MethodsData was collected in mixed mode on a survey of the ECOS (At Home we Observe Health) panel carried out by the Portuguese National Institute of Health in 2021, one year after the first COVID-19 lockdown period. The questionnaire included scales referring to work-family conflict (WFC), work-family border management (WFBM), satisfaction with family life (FLS) and sociodemographic variables. The sample, with a probabilistic and multi-stage design, was selected to represent the population of the Portuguese NUTS II regions, having a participation rate of 71%. Statistical analysis of the working people subsample was performed using a structural equation modelling approach with the R software packages lavaan and lavaan-survey, with weighting for age, sex, region and sample design.Results and ConclusionsAll the models have a good fit. In the baseline model, WFBM significantly inversely influences the WFC but not the FLS. The WFC inversely influences the FLS. Considering both sexes, they behave very differently: while for women the WFBM significantly inversely influences the WFC and directly the FLS;in men's case only the WFC significantly and inversely affects FLS. WFBM seems to be a very important factor for Portuguese working women's relation with both WFC and FLS, but nor for working men.
ABSTRACT
Vaccination strategies to control COVID-19 have been ongoing worldwide since the end of 2020. Understanding their possible effect is key to prevent future disease spread. Using a modelling approach, this study intends to measure the impact of the COVID-19 Portuguese vaccination strategy on the effective reproduction number and explore three scenarios for vaccine effectiveness waning. Namely, the no-immunity-loss, 1-year and 3-years of immunity duration scenarios. We adapted an age-structured SEIR deterministic model and used Portuguese hospitalisation data for the model calibration. Results show that, although the Portuguese vaccination plan had a substantial impact in reducing overall transmission, it might not be sufficient to control disease spread. A significant vaccination coverage of those above 5 years old, a vaccine effectiveness against disease of at least 80% and softer non-pharmaceutical interventions (NPIs), such as mask usage and social distancing, would be necessary to control disease spread in the worst scenario considered. The immunity duration scenario of 1-year displays a resurgence of COVID-19 hospitalisations by the end of 2021, the same is observed in 3-year scenario although with a lower magnitude. The no-immunity-loss scenario presents a low increase in hospitalisations. In both the 1-year and 3-year scenarios, a vaccination boost of those above 65 years old would result in a 53% and 38% peak reduction of non-ICU hospitalisations, respectively. These results suggest that NPIs should not be fully phased-out but instead be combined with a fast booster vaccination strategy to reduce healthcare burden.