Support measures and demand among healthcare workers during the COVID-19 pandemic: a survey in high-workload provinces of China, 2023.

Abstract

Objectives: To assess the demands for support measures of healthcare workers (HCWs) in China's high-workload provinces during the COVID-19 pandemic and identify specific needs to make evidence-based recommendations.

Design: Prospective cross-sectional study.

Setting: Conducted in three Chinese provinces characterised by their significant healthcare demands during the pandemic.

Participants: The study comprised 683 HCWs, including doctors, nurses, resident physicians and hospital administrators. The sample was predominantly female (68.1%), with the majority aged between 25 and 34 years. Participants were recruited through convenience and snowball sampling methods, with a focus on individuals working in high-intensity clinical environments.

Results: Hierarchical analysis was performed to assess the layered impact of support measures across different roles and genders. Substantial gender disparity was observed, with female staff reporting significantly reduced access to material support (p<0.001), family counselling (p<0.001) and health management (p<0.05), alongside a generally higher demand for various support types. In contrast, HCWs assigned to COVID-19 units did not exhibit heightened needs for COVID-specific training (p<0.001), material support (p<0.001), stress management (p<0.001), family counselling (p<0.001) or rational shift patterns (p<0.001) compared with those in non-COVID-19-focused roles.

Conclusion: The study identifies significant support deficiencies, particularly among female HCWs, and emphasises the necessity for targeted interventions to strengthen healthcare system resilience. Recommendations include prioritising adequate rest, equitable resource allocation and the implementation of gender-oriented policies to ensure workforce sustainability and maintain care quality. Further research should focus on longitudinal support dynamics.