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Fulltext "I'm stressed!": The work effect of process innovation on mental health

Du Y, Shahiri H, Wei X

SSM Popul Health, 2023 Mar;21:101347.
PMID: 36785547 DOI: 10.1016/j.ssmph.2023.101347

OBJECTIVES: The prevalence of unmet mental healthcare needs is a common challenge faced by many developing countries. This situation may worsen if more attention is not paid to the dramatic changes in the industrial workplace because of the diffusion of new automation and robotisation in the process of production.We aim to examine whether mental health problems are associated with frontline workers' direct experience of process innovation in the firms where they operate and verify whether/which of these mechanisms are involved in this relationship.
METHODS: Our data were obtained from the Foshan Workplace Employee Survey (FWES). Mental health was proxied by the subjective assessment of workers' need to receive psychological counselling or treatment. To address endogeneity concerns, this study employed an extended ordered probit model and the two-stage least squares (2SLS) method.
RESULTS: Frontline workers employed in innovative manufacturing firms are significantly more likely than those in firms taking no such action to experience psychological difficulties and to seek psychological counselling or treatment. Firms with a higher likelihood of upgrading their production process are more capable of taking a range of measures to significantly but not sufficiently mitigate the psychological problems of their workers induced by process innovation. In workplaces with a new advanced automation environment, workers believe that they face higher job insecurity (JI) and work stress, which in turn is partially and effectively linked to the deterioration in their mental health and further increases treatment-seeking behaviours.
CONCLUSION: This study suggests that carrying out process innovation is associated with increased psychological distress and, hence, more needs for mental healthcare services. To narrow the treatment gap originally subject to existing obstacles, it is necessary to face the new challenges posed by automation-induced change in the workplace, which policies should be particularly attentive to.
Fulltext Effects of selected leisure activities on preventing loneliness among older Chinese

Teh JKL, Tey NP

SSM Popul Health, 2019 Dec;9:100479.
PMID: 31646167 DOI: 10.1016/j.ssmph.2019.100479

This study examined three types of leisure activities (playing cards/mahjong, watching TV/listening to the radio, and participation in social activities) among the older segment of the Chinese population, and the effects of these activities in preventing the feelings of loneliness. Data came from the Chinese Longitudinal Healthy Longevity Survey (CLHLS), conducted in 2005, 2008, and 2011. The males, those who were educated, the young-old (aged between 65 and 74 years), urban dwellers, and living in institutions were more likely to participate in all three activities frequently. Frequent or occasional participation in these three activities was negatively associated with feelings of loneliness. The longitudinal study from 2005 to 2011 showed that respondents who frequently played cards/mahjong at baseline were less likely to feel persistent loneliness at the end of the 2011 wave. Instead, frequently watching TV/listening to the radio in 2008 was associated with lower odds in feeling persistent loneliness at the end of 2011. Hence, active participation in playing cards/mahjong and TV/radio entertainment can be effective treatment intervention against persistent loneliness among older Chinese. For the Chinese, a leisure activity steeped in a nation's culture and heritage, such as playing mahjong, may be used as an intervention strategy to prevent and alleviate chronic loneliness among older adults.
Long-term effects of child nutritional status on the accumulation of health human capital

Li S, Nor NM, Kaliappan SR

SSM Popul Health, 2023 Dec;24:101533.
PMID: 37916186 DOI: 10.1016/j.ssmph.2023.101533

Research on the impact of childhood nutrition on adult health and human capital has been extensively studied in developed countries, but research in China on this topic is limited. Nowadays, for children's nutritional status, while significant progress has been made in addressing childhood undernutrition in China, regional disparities persist, conversely, the prevalence of childhood overweight continues to rise. For adults' health human capital, the burden of chronic non-communicable diseases among Chinese residents is gradually increasing, over 50% of Chinese residents are overweight or obese, with obesity being one of the risk factors for other chronic diseases. Therefore, this study uses national representative data from 1991 to 2015 China Health and Nutrition Survey (CHNS), matched with individual information from their childhood, to examine the relationship between childhood nutrition and adult health human capital. Based on the two-way fixed effects models and logit models, the study finds that childhood nutrition status measured by height-for-age z score (HAZ) significantly and continuously has been influencing adult health human capital measured by height, BMI, self-rated health (SRH), whether have been sick in last four weeks (SH). BMI-for-age z score (BMIZ) significantly and continuously influence adult health human capital measured by BMI, blood pressure, and perceived stress (PS). Among that, this study places special emphasis on the long-lasting effects of late childhood and adolescence (ages exceeding 6) on the progressive height accumulation and sustained presence of elevated blood pressure. In conclusion, reducing childhood overweight and promoting linear growth and development throughout the whole childhood can reduce the future burden of disease on the nation.

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