Health care workers' protection and psychological safety during the COVID-19 pandemic in Spain

Abstract

Aims: To analyse the relationship between work engagement, sense of coherence and psychological distress levels in Spanish health professionals who were active during the COVID-19 pandemic lockdown.

Background: Work engagement and sense of coherence can help professionals to cope with work-related psychological distress due to the harsh conditions of the COVID-19 working environment.

Methods: Cross-sectional observational study of 1,459 health care professionals. The Utrecht Work Engagement Scale, the Sense of Coherence Scale and Goldberg's General Health Questionnaire were distributed and analysed with descriptive and multiple linear regression methods.

Results: High levels of work engagement, especially in the dedication dimension, of sense of coherence, in particular in the meaningfulness dimension, and psychological distress were obtained. Significant correlations (p < .001) were identified between all the variables.

Conclusions: Work engagement and sense of coherence correlated positively with each other and both negatively with psychological distress. So, health care professionals, despite presenting psychological distress, perceive their work satisfactorily and positively despite the severity of the situation and the harsh conditions.

Implications for nursing management: Sense of coherence and work engagement are protective factors against psychological distress. Preventive measures for professionals should go through the dimensionalization of the problem and the adaptation of practical measures for daily management.

Keywords: COVID-19; health care professionals; psychological distress; sense of coherence; work engagement.