Scoping Review of Workplace Mental Health and Well-Being Programs in Higher Education Institutions

Shari Fallek Coats; Enid Chung Roemer; Karen B Kent; Ying Zhang; Meghan F Davis; Ron Z Goetzel

doi:10.1097/JOM.0000000000003086

Scoping Review of Workplace Mental Health and Well-Being Programs in Higher Education Institutions

J Occup Environ Med. 2024 Mar 13. doi: 10.1097/JOM.0000000000003086. Online ahead of print.

Authors

Shari Fallek Coats¹, Enid Chung Roemer, Karen B Kent, Ying Zhang, Meghan F Davis, Ron Z Goetzel

Affiliation

¹ Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health, Baltimore, MD, USA.

PMID: 38471831
DOI: 10.1097/JOM.0000000000003086

Abstract

Objective: To conduct a scoping review of stressors in higher education institutions (HEIs), exacerbated by the COVID-19 pandemic, and identify successful interventions.

Methods: We reviewed 79 studies published between January 2020 and January 2023.

Results: Stressors were organized into psychosocial, organizational, and environmental categories. They included high job demand/low control; work/personal life imbalance; pressure to publish; lack of resources; low perceived organizational support; and fear of infection. Interventions included providing back-up childcare; employee assistance programs; financial well-being resources; paid medical leave; flexible work arrangements; greater transparency in decision-making; leadership development; and adaptive physical space design.

Conclusions: Mental health and well-being interventions directed at faculty and staff in HEIs are needed given the many stressors faced by this workforce. Several interventions are highlighted in the literature, but most are speculative regarding their impact, given the limited number of outcome studies.