Mental health burden among healthcare workers in Kintampo North Municipal Hospital: A descriptive analysis of stress, depression, and anxiety based on Job Demands-Resources (JD-R) model

TL;DR

This study finds high rates of stress, depression, and anxiety among healthcare workers in a Ghanaian hospital, linked to job dissatisfaction, workload, and other occupational factors.

Contribution

The study provides novel empirical data on mental health in healthcare workers from an under-researched region in Ghana.

Findings

Over 60% of healthcare workers showed clinically significant stress and depression, and nearly 88% showed anxiety.

Job dissatisfaction, workload, and long working hours were key factors linked to mental health disorders.

Male gender and specific roles like nurses and allied health workers were associated with higher mental health risks.

Abstract

Mental health disorders among healthcare workers remain a growing concern, particularly in under-researched settings. While global evidence has documented the burden of these disorders, there is limited empirical data from Kintampo North Municipality. This study assessed the prevalence and correlates of stress, depression, and anxiety among health workers in Kintampo North Municipal Hospital. A hospital-based cross-sectional study involving 316 healthcare workers was conducted at Kintampo North Municipal Hospital. Standardised tools, including the Perceived Stress Scale (PSS-10), Beck Depression Inventory (BDI-21), and Beck Anxiety Inventory (BAI-21), were used to assess stress, depression, and anxiety, respectively. Descriptive statistics, Pearson’s chi-square tests, and multivariate logistic regression analyses were performed using STATA 17. Variables with p ≤ 0.25 in the bivariate model were included in the multivariate model. Adjusted odds ratios (AORs) with 95% confidence intervals (CIs) were reported at a significance level of p < 0. 05. The prevalence of clinically significant stress, depression, and anxiety was 66.5% (95% CI: 61.20 – 71.70), 63.6% (95% CI: 58.30 – 68.90), and 87.9% (95% CI: 84.40 – 91.60), respectively. Key correlates across all the three mental health disorders included job dissatisfaction, rotational shifts, increased workload, chronic illness, alcohol consumption, extended working hours, limited sleep, male gender, and specific occupational roles such as nurses, allied health personnel, physicians, emergency medical technicians, and dispensary technicians. The high burden of the three mental health disorders among healthcare workers in Kintampo North Municipal Hospital highlights deep systemic and occupational challenges within the health system. While these findings point to the resilience of staff working under resource constraints, they also signal the need for targeted institutional reforms. Expanding access to workplace mental health support, ensuring flexible scheduling, reducing mandatory overtime, and addressing job dissatisfaction and workload inequities could be essential to foster a healthier, more sustainable healthcare workforce in Ghana and similar contexts.

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