Self-rated physical and mental health of community workers during the COVID-19 outbreak in China: A cross-sectional study

ABSTRACT

Introduction: The COVID-19 has become a global pandemic and impacts the mental and physical health of all people in the world. In China, the community workers played an important role in the combat against COVID-19. This study aimed to investigate the self-rated physical and mental health of community workers during the COVID-19 outbreak in China, and identify factors associated with differences in self-rated health. Materials and methods: From February 29 to March 27, 2020, an online questionnaire of 12 items Short Form Health Survey was used to investigate the physical and mental health of 702 community workers from Jiangsu Province. The data on working characteristics, social support, Stress Appraisal Measure and socio-demographic variables were collected as well. Multiple linear regression models were fitted to identify predictors of self-rated health among the community workers. Results: The community workers had poorer self-rated physical health, but better self-rated mental health compared to the residents of other places in China. The participants with higher level of education, working in a community with more population, having thought of seeking for help, having more working pressure sources, and having higher Stress Appraisal Measure scores had worse self-rated physical health, while the participants being community work administrators, wearing not disposable protective equipment, having thought of seeking for help, reporting more total working hours since COVID-19 outbreak, reporting more working pressure sources, and having higher Stress Appraisal Measure score had worse self-rated mental health. Conclusion: COVID-19 had great impact on community workers' physical health, but limited on mental health. The associated factors of physical and mental health may have practical implications for public health emergency-associated physical and mental health services planning and implementation.