Influence of the Exercise-psychology Adjustment Mode on the Mental Health of Medical Workers

BACKGROUND: Chinese medical workers suffer from a high incidence of mental health problems, resulting in reduced efficiency, increased medical malpractice, rising medical costs, and other issues. The effective alleviation of mental health problems among medical workers is therefore an important focus of research and social attention. METHODS: The mental health of 842 medical workers from the First Affiliated Hospital of Fujian Medical University and the Second Affiliated Hospital of Fujian Medical University in Fuzhou, China was evaluated between February 2016 and March 2016. Sixty-two workers with positive SCL-90 screening results were selected as the subjects to be investigated in the intervention experiment, with 31 in the intervention group and 31 in the control group. The control group did not participate in any regular physical exercise activity for the 4-month duration of the study, whereas the exercise–psychology adjustment mode was applied to the intervention group. RESULTS: Medical workers had a higher total SCL-90 score and number of positive items than the national norm (P < 0.05). After the intervention, the SCL-90 score, number of positive results, somatization, obsessive-compulsive symptoms, sensitivity, depression, anxiety, and hostility of the intervention group were significantly lower than they were before the intervention (P < 0.05) and lower than those of the control group (P < 0.05). CONCLUSION: The alleviation of mental health problems, which are increasingly serious among medical workers, should be a matter of societal focus. The exercise–psychology adjustment is an effective intervention mode for the mental health of medical workers.