Department of Environmental and Occupational Health and Safety, Institute of Public Health, College of Medicine and Health Sciences, University of Gondar, Gondar, Ethiopia.
West Wellega Zone Labor and Social Affairs Department, Nekemte, Ethiopia.
Front Public Health. 2023 Jun 19;11:1156652. doi: 10.3389/fpubh.2023.1156652. eCollection 2023.
Occupational stress (OS) is a psychological state that results from people's perceptions of an imbalance between job demands and their abilities to cope with those demands. The COVID-19 pandemic has disrupted the teaching and learning process and compounded the stress level among teachers due to fear of transmission of the virus and school closures or the difficulty with adherence to the COVOD-19 prevention protocol. This survey study therefore aimed to investigate the prevalence of occupational stress and its associated factors among primary school teachers during the second wave of COVID-19 in western Ethiopia.
An institution-based cross-sectional survey was employed from April to May 2021. The survey was conducted in Gimbi town among all 672 primary school teachers in western Ethiopia. The standardized Teacher Occupational Stress Scale was used to measure occupational stress in the past 4 months. The data were collected through a self-administered questionnaire. The collected data were entered into EpiData version 4.6 and analyzed using Stata version 14 software. A multivariable logistic regression analysis was conducted to identify factors associated with occupational stress. The statistical significance was considered at a value of of < 0.05 and a 95% confidence interval (CI) with an adjusted odds ratio (AOR) to evaluate the strength of associations.
The response rate was 96.8% ( = 651). The majority, 389 (59.8%) of the study participants were males. The mean (±SD) age was 35.8 (±9.3) years. The prevalence of occupational stress in the second wave of COVID-19 in the past 4 months was 50.1% ( = 326) [95% CI (46.1, 53.9)]. Job dissatisfaction [AOR: 2.06, 95% CI (1.43-2.97)] and high-risk perception of COVID-19 infection [AOR: 2.20; 95% CI (1.46-3.31)] were significantly associated with occupational stress.
This survey disclosed a high prevalence of occupational stress among primary school teachers during the second wave of COVID-19. Job dissatisfaction and a high-risk perception of COVID-19 infection were significant predictors of the occurrence of occupational stress in school teachers. Enhancing stress management skills and focusing on primary prevention of identified risk factors were advised to curtail the condition.
职业压力（OS）是一种心理状态，源于人们对工作要求与应对这些要求的能力之间失衡的认知。COVID-19 大流行扰乱了教学过程，由于担心病毒传播和学校关闭，或难以遵守 COVID-19 预防协议，教师的压力水平进一步加剧。因此，这项调查研究旨在调查 COVID-19 第二波期间，埃塞俄比亚西部小学教师职业压力的普遍程度及其相关因素。
采用 2021 年 4 月至 5 月在西部埃塞俄比亚 Gimbi 镇进行的基于机构的横断面调查。该调查在该镇所有 672 名小学教师中进行。采用标准化教师职业压力量表（Teacher Occupational Stress Scale）在过去 4 个月内测量职业压力。通过自填式问卷收集数据。收集的数据录入 EpiData 版本 4.6 并使用 Stata 版本 14 软件进行分析。采用多变量逻辑回归分析确定与职业压力相关的因素。统计显著性水平设定为 < 0.05，95%置信区间（CI）和调整后的优势比（AOR）用于评估关联强度。
应答率为 96.8%（ = 651）。研究参与者中，大多数为男性，389 人（59.8%）。平均（±SD）年龄为 35.8（±9.3）岁。在过去 4 个月的 COVID-19 第二波期间，职业压力的发生率为 50.1%（ = 326）[95%CI（46.1, 53.9)]。工作不满[比值比（AOR）：2.06，95%CI（1.43-2.97）]和对 COVID-19 感染的高风险感知[AOR：2.20；95%CI（1.46-3.31）]与职业压力显著相关。
这项调查显示，COVID-19 第二波期间，小学教师职业压力的发生率较高。工作不满和对 COVID-19 感染的高风险感知是学校教师发生职业压力的显著预测因素。建议提高教师的压力管理技能，并注重识别和预防相关风险因素，以遏制这种情况。
