Answers are grounded in this paper and cite their sources.
Objectives To examine trends in mental well-being among healthcare workers during and after the COVID-19 pandemic within a large Singapore healthcare cluster. Design Serial cross-sectional survey study conducted at four time points between March 2022 and August 2024. Setting Twelve healthcare institutions within the National University Health System (NUHS), Singapore. Participants All active NUHS employees were invited to participate in anonymous online surveys conducted in March 2022, October 2022, October 2023 and August 2024. A total of 39 416 responses were analysed across four survey waves. Interventions Cluster-wide psychosocial, organisational, operational and welfare initiatives were implemented during the pandemic to support staff well-being, including professional counselling services, leadership communications, peer support structures and practical social supports. Main outcome measures Mental well-being assessed using the Short Warwick–Edinburgh Mental Well-being Scale (SWEMWBS; range 7–35). Scores were categorised as low (<20), moderate (20–29) and high (>29). Absolute prevalence of low well-being was calculated for each survey wave. Modified Poisson regression was used to estimate adjusted relative risks (RRs) for low well-being by survey wave, job group, age category and tenure. Results The prevalence of low well-being was 12.3% (533/4331) in March 2022, 13.3% (511/3843) in October 2022, 10.1% (1506/14 930) in October 2023 and 8.6% (1401/16 312) in August 2024. Compared with March 2022, the adjusted risk of low well-being was lower in October 2023 (RR 0.82, 95% CI 0.75 to 0.90) and August 2024 (RR 0.70, 95% CI 0.64 to 0.77). Younger staff (21–29 years) consistently had the highest prevalence of low well-being. Allied health (RR 1.12, 95% CI 1.01 to 1.22), ancillary (RR 1.11, 95% CI 1.00 to 1.22) and pharmacy staff (RR 1.27, 95% CI 1.06 to 1.52) demonstrated higher adjusted risk compared with administrative staff. Length of tenure was not independently associated with low well-being. Conclusions In this large healthcare workforce, overall well-being showed modest improvement following the acute pandemic phase. However, approximately 1 in 11 staff continued to report low well-being in 2024, particularly younger employees and certain occupational groups. Ongoing monitoring and targeted support strategies may be warranted beyond the immediate crisis period.
No takes yet. Share an insight, caveat, or question.
Sun et al. (2026) studied this question.