Bibliographic Details
| Title: |
Educator perspectives on stressors and health: a qualitative study of U.S. K-12 educators in February 2022 |
| Authors: |
Jennifer M. Cavallari, Sierra M. Trudel, Natalie R. Charamut, Adekemi O. Suleiman, Lisa M. H. Sanetti, Megan N. Miskovsky, Matthew E. Brennan, Alicia G. Dugan |
| Source: |
BMC Public Health, Vol 24, Iss 1, Pp 1-13 (2024) |
| Publisher Information: |
BMC, 2024. |
| Publication Year: |
2024 |
| Collection: |
LCC:Public aspects of medicine |
| Subject Terms: |
Educators, Stress, COVID-19, Well-being, Public aspects of medicine, RA1-1270 |
| More Details: |
Abstract Background Teachers experienced increased stressors and stress during the initial onset of the COVID-19 pandemic. While many educators returned to in-person instruction in the 2021–2022 school year, they faced changing job demands and stressors which has important implications for educator well-being. We sought to understand the stressors and health impacts faced by U.S. educators in the 2021–2022 school year, two years following the acute phase of the pandemic. Methods Thirty-four certified educators based in Connecticut, USA participated in four virtual focus groups in February 2022. A semi-structured focus group script, designed by the research team and guided by the job demands-resources model, was administered to understand stressors and stress impacts. Data were transcribed and analyzed using the constant comparative method to identify themes and sub-themes. Themes were summarized based on how many participants mentioned them. Results Analysis of the qualitative data yielded three themes concerning the well-being impacts of stress: physical health and health behaviors, psychological health, and relationships and social well-being behaviors. The majority of educators indicated impacts in these domains with 76% indicating impacts on physical health and health behaviors (e.g. poor sleep, physical exhaustion, lack of exercise, unhealthy eating), 62% indicating impacts on psychological health (e.g. emotional exhaustion, anxiety, negative self-evaluation); and 68% indicating impacts on relationships social well-being behaviors (e.g. connections with family or friends, connections with others, relationships with coworkers). The majority (94%) of educators indicated that stressors from the school or district with the majority (91%) citing stressors related to protocols/expectations (e.g. excessive or increased demands, insufficient or decreased resources) and some (38%) administrators. Over half (62%) indicated personal stressors including personal/home life (41%), high personal expectations (18%), and income (18%). Some (35%) indicated either the pandemic (26%) or safety concerns (9%) were stressors. Some (24%) cited students’ parents as a stressor and a few indicated community (12%), students (12%), and state or national level (9%) stressors. Conclusion Educator well-being continued to be impacted in the post-pandemic era. Targeted interventions are needed to reduce school and district-related demands and to address stress-related educator well-being. |
| Document Type: |
article |
| File Description: |
electronic resource |
| Language: |
English |
| ISSN: |
1471-2458 |
| Relation: |
https://doaj.org/toc/1471-2458 |
| DOI: |
10.1186/s12889-024-20167-8 |
| Access URL: |
https://doaj.org/article/df5d9acd2e5f439ab77219e1a3a27901 |
| Accession Number: |
edsdoj.f5d9acd2e5f439ab77219e1a3a27901 |
| Database: |
Directory of Open Access Journals |
|
Full text is not displayed to guests. |
Login for full access.
|
