Health literacy and mental well-being of school staff in times of crisis: A path analysis of sense of coherence, work-related stress, and health-protective behaviours

IF 3.9 3区医学 Q1 PUBLIC, ENVIRONMENTAL & OCCUPATIONAL HEALTH

Public Health Pub Date : 2025-05-22 DOI:10.1016/j.puhe.2025.105749

Padmore Adusei Amoah , Angela Y.M. Leung , Joshua Okyere , Sam S.S. Lau , Kevin Dadaczynski , Orkan Okan

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引用次数: 0

Abstract

Objectives

This paper examines the relationship between health literacy and mental well-being of school staff during distressful times. It examines the mediating roles of work-related stress, health-protective behaviours (i.e., attitudes about vaccination), and sense of coherence in the relationship between health literacy and mental well-being.

Study design

A cross-sectional survey.

Methods

Data were derived from 440 school staff who participated in a study on Health Literacy and Well-being of School Staff across all schools in Hong Kong. Structural Equation Modelling was used for path analysis.

Results

Most (64.9 %) of the school staff had limited health literacy (i.e. problematic or inadequate). The mean score of their mental well-being was 51.4 out of 100 (±20.8), with around 18 % of them at risk of depression. Health literacy was not directly associated with mental well-being. Instead, it predicted mental well-being through work-related stress (B = 0.130, p = 0.036) and adoption of health-protective behaviours (B = 0.376, p = 0.021).

Conclusion

While health literacy may not directly influence the mental well-being of school staff, it has a critical role in safeguarding mental well-being in times of distress by shaping positive attitudes towards protective health measures and managing sources of work stress.

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危机时期学校工作人员的健康素养和心理健康：连贯感、工作压力和健康保护行为的路径分析

目的探讨困难时期学校教职工健康素养与心理健康的关系。它考察了与工作有关的压力、保护健康的行为（即对疫苗接种的态度）和卫生素养与心理健康之间关系的一致性感的中介作用。研究设计：横断面调查。方法数据来自440名学校员工，他们参与了一项香港所有学校员工健康素养和幸福感的研究。路径分析采用结构方程模型。结果绝大多数（64.9%）学校教职工健康素养有限（即存在问题或不充分）。他们的心理健康平均得分为51.4分（±20.8分），其中约18%的人有抑郁风险。健康素养与心理健康没有直接关系。相反，它通过工作压力（B = 0.130, p = 0.036）和采取健康保护行为（B = 0.376, p = 0.021）来预测心理健康。结论健康素养可能不会直接影响学校教职员工的心理健康，但它通过塑造对保护性健康措施的积极态度和管理工作压力来源，在维护痛苦时期的心理健康方面发挥着关键作用。

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来源期刊

Public Health 医学-公共卫生、环境卫生与职业卫生

CiteScore

7.60

自引率

0.00%

发文量

280

审稿时长

37 days

期刊介绍： Public Health is an international, multidisciplinary peer-reviewed journal. It publishes original papers, reviews and short reports on all aspects of the science, philosophy, and practice of public health.