Prevalence of mental health problems and associated factors among front-line public health workers during the COVID-19 pandemic in China: an effort–reward imbalance model-informed study

BACKGROUND: Poor mental health status and associated risk factors of public health workers have been overlooked during the COVID-19 pandemic. This study used the effort–reward imbalance model to investigate the association between work-stress characteristics (effort, over-commitment, reward) and mental health problems (anxiety and depression) among front-line public health workers during the COVID-19 pandemic in China. METHODS: A total of 4850 valid online questionnaires were collected through a self- constructed sociodemographic questionnaire, the adapted ERI questionnaire, the 9-item Patient Health Questionnaire (PHQ-9) and the 7-item General Anxiety Disorder Scale (GAD-7). Hierarchical logistic regression analysis was conducted to investigate the association between ERI factors and mental health problems (i.e., depression and anxiety), with reward treated as a potential moderator in such associations. RESULTS: The data showed that effort and over-commitment were positively associated with depression and anxiety, while reward was negatively associated with depression and anxiety. Development and job acceptance were the two dimensions of reward buffered the harmful effect of effort/over-commitment on depression and anxiety, whereas esteem was non-significant. CONCLUSIONS: This study confirmed the harmful effects of effort and over-commitment on mental health among public health workers during the COVID-19 pandemic in China. Such effects could be alleviated through an appropriate reward system, especially the development and job acceptance dimensions of such a system. These findings highlight the importance of establishing an emergency reward system, comprising reasonable work-allocation mechanism, bonuses and honorary titles, a continuous education system and better career-development opportunities. SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The online version contains supplementary material available at 10.1186/s40359-021-00563-0.