Associations of Mental Health Issues with Health Literacy and Vaccination Readiness against COVID-19 in Long-Term Care Facilities-A Cross-Sectional Analysis

• Main Authors: Linda Sanftenberg (Author), Maresa Gschwendner (Author), Andreas Grass (Author), Marietta Rottenkolber (Author), Isabel Zöllinger (Author), Maria Sebastiao (Author), Thomas Kühlein (Author), Dagmar Hindenburg (Author), Ildikó Gágyor (Author), Domenika Wildgruber (Author), Anita Hausen (Author), Christian Janke (Author), Michael Hoelscher (Author), Daniel Teupser (Author), Tobias Dreischulte (Author), Jochen Gensichen (Author), on behalf of the BACOM Study Group (Author)
• Format: Book
• Published: MDPI AG, 2024-02-01T00:00:00Z.
• Subjects: article
• Online Access: Connect to this object online.
• Notes: 10.3390/ejihpe14030029; 2254-9625; 2174-8144
• Keywords: people in need of care; healthcare workers; health literacy; vaccination readiness; mental health; COVID-19 pandemic; Public aspects of medicine; RA1-1270; Psychology; BF1-990
• Source: European Journal of Investigation in Health, Psychology and Education, Vol 14, Iss 3, Pp 432-446 (2024)

Vaccinations against COVID-19 are of the utmost importance in long-term care facilities. During the pandemic, mental health issues increased significantly. This cross-sectional analysis aimed to assess the associations of depression and anxiety with health literacy in people in need of care and the association of depression and burnout with vaccination readiness against COVID-19 in health care workers (HCWs). Within our cross-sectional study, people in need of care were assessed for symptoms of depression (PHQ-9), anxiety (GAD-7), and health literacy (HLS-EU-Q16). Among HCWs, we assessed symptoms of depression (PHQ-9) and burnout (MBI-HSS), as well as psychological antecedents of vaccination (5C) to measure vaccination readiness against COVID-19. A multivariate regression analysis was performed. Symptoms of a major depression were significantly associated with reduced health literacy (<i>p</i> = 0.010) in people in need of care. Among HCWs, symptoms of depression and burnout reduced vaccination readiness against COVID-19 significantly. In particular, collective responsibility was reduced in HCWs suffering from burnout symptoms (<i>p</i> = 0.001). People in need of care and their HCWs could benefit from intensified target group-specific vaccination counseling. Additionally, more attention should be paid to the protection of mental health in long-term care facilities.