Burdens and consequences for Dutch nursing home staff during the COVID-19 pandemic: a multiple cross-sectional study

This is the authors' abstract. We don't add key points for this paper.

Background The COVID-19 pandemic posed enormous challenges on nursing home staff, putting them at risk for mental health problems. This study aimed to examine the patterns in job demands, job resources, work functioning and mental health problems of nursing home staff over time during different phases of the COVID-19 pandemic. The study also explored variations in patterns over time among staff groups with different professional positions in nursing homes. Methods This multiple cross-sectional study included staff employed in nine Dutch nursing home organizations during different phases of the COVID-19 pandemic between June 2020 and August 2021. Data was collected with questionnaires distributed in June-September 2020 ( N = 1632), October-December 2020 ( N = 1791), February-April 2021 ( N = 1479) and June-August 2021 ( N = 799). The questionnaires measured job demands and job resources (Copenhagen Psychosocial Questionnaire, COPSOQ), work functioning (Work Role Functioning Questionnaire, WRFQ), depressive symptoms (Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale, HADS) and burnout (Burnout Assessment Tool, BAT). Differences in patterns over time among staff groups with different professional positions over waves of data collection were assessed with mixed linear regression analysis adjusted for age and gender. Results The prevalence of mental health problems was similar in each wave, with about one in five suffering from burnout or depressive symptoms. No specific patterns over time related to different phases of the COVID-19 pandemic were found. Patterns over time in quantitative demands and emotional demands were similar among home care staff and practitioners, and among residential care staff and non-care staff. Conclusions No apparent patterns over time related to the different phases of the pandemic were found for job demands, resources, work functioning and mental health problems. Due to the limitations associated with the multiple cross-sectional design, additional longitudinal studies to observe individuals over time are needed, as the current study design does not allow inferences about within-person changes. Clinical trail number Not applicable.