IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/gam/jijerp/v19y2022i24p16491-d997578.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

Factors Related to Mental Health of Foreign Care Workers in Long-Term Care Facilities in Japan during the COVID-19 Pandemic—A Comparative Study

Author

Listed:
  • Qian Wu

    (Graduate School of Health Sciences, Kobe University, 7-10-2 Tomogaoka, Suma, Kobe 6540142, Hyogo, Japan)

  • Yuko Yamaguchi

    (Graduate School of Health Sciences, Kobe University, 7-10-2 Tomogaoka, Suma, Kobe 6540142, Hyogo, Japan)

  • Chieko Greiner

    (Graduate School of Health Sciences, Kobe University, 7-10-2 Tomogaoka, Suma, Kobe 6540142, Hyogo, Japan)

Abstract

This study aimed to evaluate the factors related to the mental health of foreign care workers in Japan’s long-term care (LTC) facilities and compare their results with those of native care workers. We conducted a cross-sectional survey covering 80 LTC facilities across Japan between August and November 2021. The survey mainly included mental health, workload, reward, sense of coherence, loneliness, COVID-19-specific factors and sociodemographic variables. The results show that workload was a distinct feature associated with the mental health of foreign care workers (n = 172) when compared with those of native care workers (n = 154). In addition, we found that the relationship between cultural adaptation and mental health in a sample of foreign care workers was mediated by loneliness and sense of coherence (SOC). Finally, we found that reward, loneliness, SOC, and COVID-19-specific factors had significant impacts on the mental health of both foreign and native care workers. These findings highlight the importance of support measures from the workplace for foreign care workers. Workplace interventions that focus on workload, reward, and sense of coherence strategies are required to address mental health improvement and may still be of value in dealing with the continuing COVID-19 pandemic.

Suggested Citation

  • Qian Wu & Yuko Yamaguchi & Chieko Greiner, 2022. "Factors Related to Mental Health of Foreign Care Workers in Long-Term Care Facilities in Japan during the COVID-19 Pandemic—A Comparative Study," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 19(24), pages 1-14, December.
  • Handle: RePEc:gam:jijerp:v:19:y:2022:i:24:p:16491-:d:997578
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: https://www.mdpi.com/1660-4601/19/24/16491/pdf
    Download Restriction: no

    File URL: https://www.mdpi.com/1660-4601/19/24/16491/
    Download Restriction: no
    ---><---

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Kento Tanaka & Masatoshi Tahara & Yuki Mashizume & Kayoko Takahashi, 2021. "Effects of Lifestyle Changes on the Mental Health of Healthcare Workers with Different Sense of Coherence Levels in the Era of COVID-19 Pandemic," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 18(6), pages 1-11, March.
    2. Benjamin Schilgen & Albert Nienhaus & Mike Mösko, 2020. "The Extent of Psychosocial Distress among Immigrant and Non-Immigrant Homecare Nurses—A Comparative cross Sectional Survey," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 17(5), pages 1-20, March.
    3. Pramod R. Regmi & Edwin van Teijlingen & Preeti Mahato & Nirmal Aryal & Navnita Jadhav & Padam Simkhada & Quazi Syed Zahiruddin & Abhay Gaidhane, 2019. "The Health of Nepali Migrants in India: A Qualitative Study of Lifestyles and Risks," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 16(19), pages 1-13, September.
    4. Rocío de Diego-Cordero & Juan Vega-Escaño & Lorena Tarriño-Concejero & María Ángeles García-Carpintero-Muñoz, 2020. "The Occupational Health of Female Immigrant Caregivers: A Qualitative Approach," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 17(21), pages 1-14, October.
    5. Fumiko Sato & Kazuo Hayakawa & Kei Kamide, 2016. "Investigation of mental health in Indonesian health workers immigrating to Japan under the Economic Partnership Agreement," Nursing & Health Sciences, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 18(3), pages 342-349, September.
    6. Sarah Abu-Kaf & Enas Khalaf, 2020. "Acculturative Stress among Arab Students in Israel: The Roles of Sense of Coherence and Coping Strategies," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 17(14), pages 1-19, July.
    7. Antonovsky, Aaron, 1993. "The structure and properties of the sense of coherence scale," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 36(6), pages 725-733, March.
    8. Catalina López-Martínez & Natalia Serrano-Ortega & Sara Moreno-Cámara & Rafael del-Pino-Casado, 2019. "Association between Sense of Coherence and Mental Health in Caregivers of Older Adults," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 16(20), pages 1-10, October.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Francesca Sanna & Maura Galletta & Maria Koelen & Paolo Contu, 2022. "Development of Sense of Coherence Stability in the AGORA Healthy Ageing Study," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 19(21), pages 1-8, October.
    2. Izolda Pristojkovic Suko & Magdalena Holter & Erwin Stolz & Elfriede Renate Greimel & Wolfgang Freidl, 2022. "Acculturation, Adaptation, and Health among Croatian Migrants in Austria and Ireland: A Cross-Sectional Study," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 19(24), pages 1-15, December.
    3. Kristin Thomas & Evalill Nilsson & Karin Festin & Pontus Henriksson & Mats Lowén & Marie Löf & Margareta Kristenson, 2020. "Associations of Psychosocial Factors with Multiple Health Behaviors: A Population-Based Study of Middle-Aged Men and Women," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 17(4), pages 1-17, February.
    4. Ana Raquel Nunes, 2021. "Exploring the interactions between vulnerability, resilience and adaptation to extreme temperatures," Natural Hazards: Journal of the International Society for the Prevention and Mitigation of Natural Hazards, Springer;International Society for the Prevention and Mitigation of Natural Hazards, vol. 109(3), pages 2261-2293, December.
    5. Leiv Gabrielsen & Pål Ulleberg & Reidulf Watten, 2012. "The Adolescent Life Goal Profile Scale: Development of a New Scale for Measurements of Life Goals Among Young People," Journal of Happiness Studies, Springer, vol. 13(6), pages 1053-1072, December.
    6. Mia M. Vainio & Daiva Daukantaitė, 2016. "Grit and Different Aspects of Well-Being: Direct and Indirect Relationships via Sense of Coherence and Authenticity," Journal of Happiness Studies, Springer, vol. 17(5), pages 2119-2147, October.
    7. Orna Braun-Lewensohn, 2016. "Sense of Coherence, Values, Youth Involvement, Civic Efficacy and Hope: Adolescents During Social Protest," Social Indicators Research: An International and Interdisciplinary Journal for Quality-of-Life Measurement, Springer, vol. 128(2), pages 661-673, September.
    8. Ma, Yuting & Chen, Xin & Nunez, Alejandra & Yan, Miao & Zhang, Baoshan & Zhao, Fengqing, 2020. "Influences of parenting on adolescents’ empathy through the intervening effects of self-integrity and sense of coherence," Children and Youth Services Review, Elsevier, vol. 116(C).
    9. I. Khumalo & Q. Temane & M. Wissing, 2012. "Socio-Demographic Variables, General Psychological Well-Being and the Mental Health Continuum in an African Context," Social Indicators Research: An International and Interdisciplinary Journal for Quality-of-Life Measurement, Springer, vol. 105(3), pages 419-442, February.
    10. Tone M Norekvål & Bengt Fridlund & Philip Moons & Jan E Nordrehaug & Hans I Sævareid & Tore Wentzel‐Larsen & Berit R Hanestad, 2010. "Sense of coherence—a determinant of quality of life over time in older female acute myocardial infarction survivors," Journal of Clinical Nursing, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 19(5‐6), pages 820-831, March.
    11. Dorota Ortenburger & Dariusz Mosler & Józef Langfort & Jacek Wąsik, 2022. "Feeling of Meaningfulness and Anxiety of Taekwon-Do Fighters in a Salutogenic Notion," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 19(23), pages 1-8, November.
    12. Cai‐Yun He & Ann Tak‐Ying Shiu, 2006. "Sense of coherence and diabetes‐specific stress perceptions of diabetic patients in central Mainland China," Journal of Clinical Nursing, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 15(11), pages 1460-1462, November.
    13. Karen Birna Thorvaldsdottir & Sigridur Halldorsdottir & Denise M. Saint Arnault, 2021. "Understanding and Measuring Help-Seeking Barriers among Intimate Partner Violence Survivors: Mixed-Methods Validation Study of the Icelandic Barriers to Help-Seeking for Trauma (BHS-TR) Scale," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 19(1), pages 1-21, December.
    14. Unni Moksnes & Gørill Haugan, 2014. "Validation of the Orientation to Life Questionnaire in Norwegian Adolescents, Construct Validity Across Samples," Social Indicators Research: An International and Interdisciplinary Journal for Quality-of-Life Measurement, Springer, vol. 119(2), pages 1105-1120, November.
    15. Yuya Kashiwazaki & Hitomi Matsunaga & Makiko Orita & Yasuyuki Taira & Keiko Oishi & Noboru Takamura, 2022. "Occupational Difficulties of Disaster-Affected Local Government Employees in the Long-Term Recovery Phase after the Fukushima Nuclear Accident: A Cross-Sectional Study Using Modeling Analysis," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 19(7), pages 1-10, March.
    16. Konttinen, Hanna & Haukkala, Ari & Uutela, Antti, 2008. "Comparing sense of coherence, depressive symptoms and anxiety, and their relationships with health in a population-based study," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 66(12), pages 2401-2412, June.
    17. Kleio Koutra & Courtney Burns & Laura Sinko & Sachiko Kita & Hülya Bilgin & Denise Saint Arnault, 2022. "Trauma Recovery Rubric: A Mixed-Method Analysis of Trauma Recovery Pathways in Four Countries," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 19(16), pages 1-17, August.
    18. Oshio, Takashi & 小塩, 隆士 & オシオ, タカシ & Urakawa, Kunio, 2011. "Neighborhood Perceptions, Self-rated Health, and Personality Traits: Evidence from Japan," CIS Discussion paper series 531, Center for Intergenerational Studies, Institute of Economic Research, Hitotsubashi University.
    19. Ethel N Abe & Isaac I Abe & Ziska Fields & Ganiyu O Idris, 2018. "Work-Family Stressors and Work-Family Satisfaction: Effect of Sense of Coherence at a Metropolitan Municipality," Journal of Economics and Behavioral Studies, AMH International, vol. 10(2), pages 74-88.
    20. Ming‐Hsiu Wu & Sheuan Lee & Hui‐Yi Su & Hsiang‐Chu Pai, 2015. "The effect of cognitive appraisal in middle‐aged women stroke survivors and the psychological health of their caregivers: a follow‐up study," Journal of Clinical Nursing, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 24(21-22), pages 3155-3164, November.

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:gam:jijerp:v:19:y:2022:i:24:p:16491-:d:997578. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: MDPI Indexing Manager (email available below). General contact details of provider: https://www.mdpi.com .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.