Measuring Work-Related Stress in Primary Care in the Covid-19 Pandemic (WRS)

Work-Related Stress Amongst a Primary Care Workforce in Greater Manchester, United Kingdom Before and During the Covid-19 Pandemic

This prospective cohort study was designed to assess WRS amongst clinical and non-clinical staff in a primary healthcare setting using a validated tool with a view to developing an evidence base to form a historical and comparative record during the Covid-19 pandemic.

Study Overview

• Status: Completed
• Conditions: Covid19; Occupational Stress
• Intervention / Treatment: Other: Health and Safety Executive's (HSE) Management Standards Indicator Tool (MSIT) to measure work-related stress

Detailed Description

Work-related stress (WRS) is the second most common cause of occupational ill health in the United Kingdom. Studies suggest that during the Covid-19 pandemic, an increased prevalence of stress-related disorders was reported amongst healthcare workers. WRS can be assessed using the Health and Safety Executive's (HSE) Management Standards Indicator Tool (MSIT) and is used to compare changes to WRS across six domains over time. Lower scores in domains indicate higher WRS experienced by workers. Increases in the score in subsequent assessments indicate improvements to WRS. The MSIT was distributed to 23 primary care clinical and non-clinical staff in a medical centre in Greater Manchester, United Kingdom in March, 2019. 18 responses were received from 23 staff (78% response rate), establishing a baseline. In May, 2020, the authors decided to reanalyse the effect of the Covid-19 pandemic on WRS upon the same population. The MSIT was redistributed in March 2021, with 14 responses from 20 staff (70% response rate). Microsoft Excel's data analysis was applied to the results. WRS across the practice increased by 7% in demands, 4% in control and 2% in role domains and improved by 3% in support, 3% in relationships and 2% in change domains. The results are in keeping with the global picture of evolving WRS amongst healthcare staff during the pandemic. Monitoring and addressing WRS regularly helps maintain system-wide resilience when faced with unexpected or unprecedented change. Comparing these results with WRS in other healthcare systems would be a useful next step.

• Study Type: Observational
• Enrollment (Actual): 18

Contacts and Locations

Study Locations

• United Kingdom
  • Greater Manchester
    • Salford, Greater Manchester, United Kingdom, M28 3DR
      • The Gill Medical Centre

Participation Criteria

Eligibility Criteria

• Ages Eligible for Study: Child; Adult; Older Adult
• Accepts Healthy Volunteers: Yes
• Genders Eligible for Study: All

• Sampling Method: Probability Sample

Study Population

Adult health professionals and administration staff

Description

Inclusion Criteria:

• Primary healthcare staff working at the Gill Medical Centre for at least two months prior to assessment.

Exclusion Criteria:

• Any staff member employed for less than two months, those who were off work due to non- stress related long-term leave or incomplete submissions.

Study Plan

How is the study designed?

Number of groups / cohorts

1

Cohorts and Interventions

Group / Cohort	Intervention / Treatment
Healthcare Workers at the Gill Medical Centre; Clinical and non-clinical staff at the Gill Medical Centre will complete a validated stress questionnaire during the Covid-19 pandemic. A baseline was established in May, 2019.	Other: Health and Safety Executive's (HSE) Management Standards Indicator Tool (MSIT) to measure work-related stress; Questionnaire

What is the study measuring?

Primary Outcome Measures

Outcome Measure	Measure Description	Time Frame
Measurement of stress across the workforce	Work-related stress (WRS) is measured using the Management Standards Indicator Tool (MSIT) on a Likert scale of 1-5 with a higher number indicating less WRS. A measurement is made at baseline and during the Covid-19 pandemic.	24 months

Secondary Outcome Measures

Outcome Measure	Measure Description	Time Frame
Measurement of stress by type of role	WRS measured using MSIT across three different primary healthcare roles - doctors, other clinicians and administrators - at baseline from 2019 and during the Covid-19 pandemic	24 months

Collaborators and Investigators

• Sponsor: Dr. Faizan Awan
• Investigators: Principal Investigator: Ashleigh Ward, MBChB, Salford Royal Hospital

Study record dates

Study Major Dates

• Study Start (Actual): April 1, 2019
• Primary Completion (Actual): March 29, 2021
• Study Completion (Actual): June 29, 2021

Study Registration Dates

• First Submitted: June 29, 2021
• First Submitted That Met QC Criteria: June 29, 2021
• First Posted (Actual): July 1, 2021

Study Record Updates

• Last Update Posted (Actual): July 1, 2021
• Last Update Submitted That Met QC Criteria: June 29, 2021
• Last Verified: June 1, 2021

More Information

Terms related to this study

• Keywords: Primary health care; Pandemics
• Additional Relevant MeSH Terms: Behavioral Symptoms; Coronavirus Infections; Coronaviridae Infections; Nidovirales Infections; RNA Virus Infections; Virus Diseases; Infections; Respiratory Tract Infections; Respiratory Tract Diseases; Pneumonia, Viral; Pneumonia; Lung Diseases; Stress, Psychological; Occupational Diseases; COVID-19; Occupational Stress
• Other Study ID Numbers: 302893

Plan for Individual participant data (IPD)

• Plan to Share Individual Participant Data (IPD)?: YES
• IPD Plan Description: Sharing of collected data with researchers using the same tool to assess work-related stress.
• IPD Sharing Time Frame: Data available now 29/06/2021 to 29/06/2031.
• IPD Sharing Access Criteria: E-mail: faizan@doctors.org.uk with name, contact details and study purpose.
• IPD Sharing Supporting Information Type: SAP; CSR

Drug and device information, study documents

• Studies a U.S. FDA-regulated drug product: No
• Studies a U.S. FDA-regulated device product: No