Health status of long-term sick leave and working female teachers in Germany: A cross-sectional study

Self-assessment of somatic and mental health by instructor-officers under the influence of negative factors of professional activities

OBJECTIVE

Aim: To investigate the impact of negative factors of professional activities in the context of the COVID-19 pandemic and martial law in Ukraine on the somatic and mental health of instructor-officers with different teaching experiences.

PATIENTS AND METHODS

Materials and Methods: The research involved 131 instructor-officers with different teaching experiences. Three groups of instructor-officers were formed: Group 1 - instructors with up to 10 years of teaching experience (n = 30), Group 2 - instructors with 10 to 20 years of experience (n = 47), Group 3 - instructors with more than 20 years of experience (n = 54). The self-assessment of somatic and mental health was carried out using a questionnaire developed by the authors.

RESULTS

Results: The negative impact of the factors of professional activities in the context of the COVID-19 pandemic and martial law in Ukraine on the somatic and mental health of instructor-officers was established. More than 50 % of the instructors rated their health as satisfactory, and more than 20 % as poor. The overwhelming majority of instructors reported a slight (over 40 %) and significant (over 30 %) deterioration in both somatic and mental health. Health problems over the past year have interfered with the performance of professional duties for more than 80 % of instructor-officers.

CONCLUSION

Conclusions: The systematic impact of negative factors can lead to some psychosomatic disorders and diseases in instructor-officers and a decrease in the quality of their teaching activities. This necessitates the search for ways to restore the somatic and mental health of instructor-officers.

Frequency of Breakfast Eating and Obesity Prevalence in Primary School Teachers

There is a lack of research using objective measures about teachers’ physical characteristics and lifestyle. The purpose of the study was to evaluate the relationship between frequency of breakfast consumption and body size, body composition, blood pressure and lifestyle factors in teachers from Hungary. The study analyzed data collected from 99 female primary school teachers (50.6 ± 6.6 year) before the COVID-19 pandemic. Anthropometric and resting blood pressure measurements were taken for each participant. Questionnaires were used to assess lifestyle factors (i.e., physical activity level, smoking status and eating breakfast). The frequency of eating breakfast was classified as rarely or never (0–2 days), some days (3–5 days) and regularly (6–7 days). Sixty-five percent of female teachers consumed breakfast 6–7 days/week, and this regular eating habit was positively associated with a lower risk of obesity (OR 0.29; CI: 0.10–0.80). In our sample, a higher frequency of breakfast consumption was not significantly associated with smoking (OR 2.65; CI: 0.17–1.37), hypertension (OR 0.61; CI: 0.23–1.65) and inactivity (OR 2.80; CI: 0.26–1.84). A beneficial effect of eating breakfast regularly was found on body composition in female teachers. Further studies should focus on the health behaviors of teachers and their relationship with physical activity or diagnosed diseases in urban and rural areas.

Professional stress and burnout syndrome in teachers: Are there differences among the Republic of Srpska regions?

Introduction: Burnout syndrome occurs as a result of prolonged exposure to emotional and interpersonal stressors in the workplace and is characterised by three dimensions: emotional exhaustion, depersonalization and personal achievements. Research and prevention of this phenomenon are of public health importance due to numerous consequences it leaves on the health of the working population and work organisation, and among teachers, on children as direct users of their services. The research aims to examine the presence of the stress and burnout syndrome at work in teachers in the regions of the Republic of Srpska, as well as to determine the existence of differences between regions. Methods: The research was conducted as a cross-sectional study in the period August-September 2018, in the territory of the Republic of Srpska. The target population was represented by teachers of primary and secondary schools. The response rate in all regions was 75 % or above it. For this research, a special questionnaire was constructed, consisting of sociodemographic data, data on economic characteristics of the respondents, characteristics of the work environment, as well as data on satisfaction with equipment and resources at work, support from family and friends and presence of work-life conflict. In addition to the general questionnaire, the Maslach Burnout Inventory-Human Services Study (MBI-HSS) questionnaire for the assessment of the burnout syndrome at work, and Karasek's questionnaire (Job Content Questionnaire) for the assessment of stress at work were used. Results: A statistically significant difference in the prevalence of occupational stress among teachers between RS regions was found. Also, a statistically significant difference was found between the regions of the Republic of Srpska related to the dimensions of burnout syndrome at work. A high level of emotional exhaustion was more often reported by teachers from the territory of the region of East Sarajevo and Prijedor (8.0 % and 7.7 %) comparing to teachers from other regions. Teachers from the territory of Prijedor more often showed moderate and high levels of depersonalization, as well as a low level of personal achievements comparing to teachers from other regions. Conclusion: This research shows the presence of burnout syndrome in teachers of all the Republic of Srpska regions at the beginning of the school year, as well as statistically significant differences between the regions. This indicates the need for additional research on risk factors by regions to form targeted and thus more effective prevention measures.