Fear of contamination, perceived social support and physical health of health social workers in Hong Kong: A cross-sectional survey

Hong Kong experienced the SARS pandemic in 2003. Seventeen years later, the Covid-19 pandemic now challenges Hong Kong and the world. This study aims to unveil the impact of the pandemic on health social workers. One hundred and sixty-six health care social workers in Hong Kong were recruited to joi...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Social work in health care 2022-04, Vol.61 (4), p.280-297
Main Authors: Chow, Amy Y. M, Suen, Margaret H. P, Jiao, Keyuan, Ng, Yong Hao, Wang, Juan, Chan, Cecilia L.W.
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Avoidance behavior
Compulsions
Contamination
COVID-19
Cross-sectional studies
Disgust
Fear & phobias
Fear of contamination
General public
Health services
health social work
Health status
Medical social workers
Moderation
Obsessive compulsive disorder
Pandemics
Perceived social support
Polls & surveys
Resilience
Social support
Social workers
Workplaces
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Summary:Hong Kong experienced the SARS pandemic in 2003. Seventeen years later, the Covid-19 pandemic now challenges Hong Kong and the world. This study aims to unveil the impact of the pandemic on health social workers. One hundred and sixty-six health care social workers in Hong Kong were recruited to join a cross-sectional online survey from November 2020 to March 2021. This paper includes the analysis of the demographic information, fear of contamination, resilience, perceived social support and physical health only. Irrespective of the demographic background, the level of fear of contamination, resilience, perceived social support and physical health were similar. The mean scores of the two dimensions of fear of contamination (Harm avoidance: m = 7.49, s.d. = 3.25; Disgust avoidance: m = 7.75, s.d. = 2.90) were higher than those of general public and clinical samples with Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder. No moderation effects were found in resilience and perceived social support in the relationship of fear of contamination and physical health. Instead, direct effects were shown.The impact of the pandemic on health social workers was universal. Psychoeducational programs to alleviate the fear of contamination and organizational-level interventions to improve workplace social support are highly needed.
ISSN:0098-1389
1541-034X
DOI:10.1080/00981389.2022.2076766