A Review on the Prevalence of Poor Mental Health in the Construction Industry.

Journal: Healthcare (Basel, Switzerland)

Volume: 12

Issue: 5

Year of Publication: 

Affiliated Institutions:  Department of Engineering, Laing O'Rourke Centre for Construction Engineering and Technology, University of Cambridge, Cambridge CB FS, UK.

Abstract summary 

A plethora of studies on the prevalence of poor mental health have been undertaken in the general population. Nevertheless, an understanding of the prevalence of poor mental health in the context of high-risk settings, such as construction, is missing. This is noteworthy as poor mental health is widespread in this context. Given that over 100 million people work in construction on a global scale, a better understanding of the burden of poor mental health in construction is needed. To this end, a review on the prevalence of key mental health-related conditions in construction was undertaken. Through this review, over 1000 papers were identified through PubMed and Google Scholar. After applying inclusion and exclusion criteria, a final set of 19 documents were included. Results showed that anxiety and depressive disorders, as well as psychological distress, have a high burden in construction. Vulnerable population subgroups (e.g., women, minority ethnic groups) were identified. Construction is a high-risk setting and despite this, the burden of poor mental health in this context is not given the importance it deserves. This review sheds light on the prevalence of key conditions, which are linked to high humanistic and economic burden. This review provides a foundation and useful starting point for further investigations, and results from this review may be used to inform future research, workplace interventions, and policy.

Authors & Co-authors:  Blair Winkler Middleton Remes

Study Outcome 

Source Link: Visit source

Statistics
Citations :  International Labour Organization Developing the Construction Industry for Employment-Intensive Infrastructure Investments. 2019. [(accessed on 11 November 2023)]. Available online: https://www.ilo.org/wcmsp5/groups/public/---ed_emp/---emp_policy/---invest/documents/publication/wcms_734235.pdf.
Authors :  3
Identifiers
Doi : 570
SSN : 2227-9032
Study Population
Male,Female
Mesh Terms
Other Terms
anxiety;construction;depression;epidemiology;mental health;prevalence;stress;vulnerable population;workplace
Study Design
Study Approach
Country of Study
Publication Country
Switzerland