Preparedness for the next emerging infectious disease outbreak by implementing strategic human resource management

COVID-19 infection: Positive mental health, psychological vulnerability and sex: Cross-sectional study

Since mid-March 2020, a state of emergency was decreed in Portugal due to the COVID-19 pandemic and, consequently, measures were implemented to protect public health, such as social isolation, which will certainly have a notable impact on the mental health of the population, especially in the most vulnerable groups. Positive Mental Health (PMH) is essential to deal with adversity, in this case with the pandemic, and to live better and with greater satisfaction. We consider it relevant to investigate how PMH was used as a resource to deal with the pandemic, depending on the level of vulnerability and sex. A, cross-sectional study was carried out whose the aim was to evaluate the levels of PMH and psychological vulnerability in people with COVOD-19 infection and analyze the association between PMH and psychological vulnerability among men and women.

METHODS

The instruments used were a sociodemographic characterization questionnaire, the Positive Mental Health Questionnaire, and the Psychological Vulnerability Scale (PVS), that were sent and filled out online. A quantitative, cross-sectional, descriptive, and correlational study was carried out.

RESULTS

After analyzing the results, it was found that approximately 50.4% of the respondents (n = 387) had global PMH values that place them in quartile 50. There was also a statistically significant difference between female and male PMH, with women showing greater psychological vulnerability and lower overall PMH.

CONCLUSIONS

We conclude that the women present a greater psychological vulnerability and a lower level of PMH when compared to men.

RELEVANCE TO CLINICAL PRACTICE

Considering the study's statistically significant results, when we talk about mental health, we should always consider the sex variable as a vulnerability factor, in a pandemic or non-pandemic phase.

Innovative human resource management strategies during the COVID-19 pandemic: A systematic narrative review approach

BACKGROUND

The spread of COVID-19 creates disruption, uncertainty, complexity, and ambiguity in all organizations. People are the primary asset of any organization and help achieve their goals. Accordingly, to manage human resources sustainably, the organizational strategy review is an appropriate retort.

OBJECTIVE

The purpose of this comprehensive review study is to identify unknown challenges, strategies, and unusual decisions related to human resource management other than clinical organizations during the COVID-19 pandemic.

METHODS

The study applied a narrative review approach dissection based on organizations' human resource management strategies to combat the COVID-19 impacts. The review study conducted published literature research through the electronic databases at Web of Science, PubMed, Scopus, PsycINFO, and LISTA. The study extracted 1281 articles from the mentioned databases from November 2021 to the first quarter of 2021. This study reviewed selected papers, included 15 relevant articles, and removed duplicates according to inclusion and exclusion criteria. Finally, the study developed a conceptual framework of human resource management strategies based on the literature findings to fight against the COVID-19 pandemic.

RESULTS

The COVID-19 pandemic posed numerous adverse consequences, such as economic shock, global health crisis, change in social behaviors, and challenges at the organization level to continue business operations. Besides, the strategies included flexibility, strengthening internal efficiency, talent acquisition, and making innovative changes based on organizational assessment and needs for smooth business activities.

CONCLUSION

The appropriate human resource management strategies implementations would increase employees' mental well-being, satisfaction, productivity, motivation, and health safety at the workplace.