Stress and burnout amongst mental health professionals in Singapore during Covid-19 endemicity.

The COVID-19 pandemic has exerted a huge emotional strain on mental health professionals (MHP) in Singapore. As Singapore transited into an endemic status, it is unclear whether the psychological strain has likewise lessened. The aims of this study were to investigate the levels of stress and burnout experienced by MHP working in a tertiary psychiatric hospital in Singapore during this phase of COVID-19 endemicity (2022) in comparison to the earlier pandemic years (2020 and 2021) and to identify factors which contribute to as well as ameliorate stress and burnout. A total of 282 MHP participated in an online survey in 2022, which included 2 validated measures, namely the Perceived Stress Scale and the Oldenburg Burnout Inventory (OLBI). Participants were also asked to rank factors that contributed the most to their stress and burnout. Between-group comparisons were conducted regarding stress and burnout levels among MHP across different demographic groupings and working contexts. In addition, OLBI data completed by MHP in 2020 and 2021 were extracted from 2 published studies, and trend analysis was conducted for the proportion of MHP meeting burnout threshold across 3 time points. We found that the proportion of MHP meeting burnout threshold in 2020, 2021 and 2022 were 76.9%, 87.6% and 77.9% respectively. Professional groups, age, years of experience and income groups were associated with stress and/or burnout. High clinical workload was ranked as the top factor that contributed to stress and burnout while flexible working arrangement was ranked as the top area for improvement so as to reduce stress and burnout. As such, policy makers and hospital management may want to focus on setting clear mental health targets and facilitate manageable clinical workload, build manpower resiliency, optimize resources and provide flexible work arrangements to alleviate stress and burnout among MHP.

Continuity and Change in, and Child Predictors of, Caregiver Reported Anxiety Symptoms in Young People with Autism Spectrum Disorder: A Follow-Up Study.

Little is known about continuity, change and predictors of anxiety in ASD. This follow-up study investigated changes in caregiver-reported anxiety in 54 non-referred youth with ASD after 10-19 months. Earlier child predictors of later anxiety were also examined. Anxiety scores were generally stable. Time 1 ASD repetitive behavior symptoms, but not social/communication symptoms, predicted Time 2 total anxiety scores, over and above child age, gender and adaptive functioning scores, but this predictive relationship was fully mitigated by Time 1 anxiety scores when these were included as a covariate in the regression model. Exploring bi-directionality between autism and anxiety symptomatology, Time 1 anxiety scores did not predict Time 2 ASD symptoms. Preliminary clinical implications and possible future directions are discussed.