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Students and Staff in Lockdown: Mental and Social Health in the Austrian Tertiary Education Sector

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  • Elisabeth Noehammer

    (Department of Public Health, Health Services Research and HTA, UMIT TIROL—Private University for Health Sciences, Medical Informatics and Technology, 6060 Hall in Tirol, Austria)

Abstract

The SARS-CoV-2 pandemic led to high demands on the educational sector. For tertiary education, investigations mostly focused on the effects of digital teaching. However, little is known regarding health effects. Moreover, the emphasis was mainly on students, not university staff members. An international online questionnaire consisting of quantitative and qualitative items (from the LockedDown project) was translated into German and used in Austria from June to November 2020. This study reports on social and psychological health plus the perceived benefits of the pandemic. A total of 1175 students and 716 staff members participated. While staff members reported higher stress levels at the beginning of the pandemic, they were more pronounced for students from Week 5 onwards (Chi 2 < 0.001). Quality of Life (QoL) decreased more in the student population, and depression/anxiety was higher and rose compared to staff. Moreover, students reported fewer benefits of the pandemic. Students perceived the burden of the pandemic later than staff members who needed to adapt their work processes immediately. Mental health interventions in a pandemic seem to be needed at different points in time depending on the target group.

Suggested Citation

  • Elisabeth Noehammer, 2022. "Students and Staff in Lockdown: Mental and Social Health in the Austrian Tertiary Education Sector," Social Sciences, MDPI, vol. 12(1), pages 1-12, December.
    • Handle: RePEc:gam:jscscx:v:12:y:2022:i:1:p:4-:d:1009288
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    1. -, 2020. "Education in the time of COVID-19," Coediciones, Naciones Unidas Comisión Económica para América Latina y el Caribe (CEPAL), number 45905 edited by Eclac, July.
    2. -, 2020. "Education in the time of COVID-19," Libros y Documentos Institucionales, Naciones Unidas Comisión Económica para América Latina y el Caribe (CEPAL), number 45905 edited by Eclac.
    3. Rachael H. Dodd & Kevin Dadaczynski & Orkan Okan & Kirsten J. McCaffery & Kristen Pickles, 2021. "Psychological Wellbeing and Academic Experience of University Students in Australia during COVID-19," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 18(3), pages 1-12, January.
    4. Stefan Stieger & David Lewetz & Viren Swami, 2021. "Emotional Well-Being Under Conditions of Lockdown: An Experience Sampling Study in Austria During the COVID-19 Pandemic," Journal of Happiness Studies, Springer, vol. 22(6), pages 2703-2720, August.
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