{"status":"ok","message-type":"work","message-version":"1.0.0","message":{"indexed":{"date-parts":[[2026,5,1]],"date-time":"2026-05-01T20:45:11Z","timestamp":1777668311316,"version":"3.51.4"},"reference-count":72,"publisher":"Wiley","issue":"6","license":[{"start":{"date-parts":[[2026,3,9]],"date-time":"2026-03-09T00:00:00Z","timestamp":1773014400000},"content-version":"vor","delay-in-days":0,"URL":"http:\/\/creativecommons.org\/licenses\/by\/4.0\/"},{"start":{"date-parts":[[2026,3,9]],"date-time":"2026-03-09T00:00:00Z","timestamp":1773014400000},"content-version":"tdm","delay-in-days":0,"URL":"http:\/\/doi.wiley.com\/10.1002\/tdm_license_1.1"}],"funder":[{"DOI":"10.13039\/501100017642","name":"Spanish National Plan for Scientific and Technical Research and Innovation","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","award":["PID2021\u2010124067OB\u2010C22"],"award-info":[{"award-number":["PID2021\u2010124067OB\u2010C22"]}],"id":[{"id":"10.13039\/501100017642","id-type":"DOI","asserted-by":"publisher"}]}],"content-domain":{"domain":["onlinelibrary.wiley.com"],"crossmark-restriction":true},"short-container-title":["Health Economics"],"published-print":{"date-parts":[[2026,6]]},"abstract":"<jats:title>ABSTRACT<\/jats:title>\n                  <jats:p>The COVID\u201019 pandemic placed exceptional strain on essential services, raising urgent concerns about the mental well\u2010being of workers in critical sectors. This study examines the short\u2010 and medium\u2010term effects of the COVID\u201019 pandemic on the mental health of health and social care (HSC) workers in the UK relative to other occupational groups. Using data from the UK Household Longitudinal Study and measuring mental health via the General Health Questionnaire (GHQ), we apply a difference\u2010in\u2010differences strategy, where both groups could be treated only in the second period (a pre\u2010post design), to investigate whether HSC workers experienced distinct mental health trajectories compared to other key workers (KWs) and workers in non\u2010essential sectors (non\u2010KWs). The results for the immediate post\u2010pandemic period (April\u2013November 2020) show no significant differences in mental health for HSC workers compared with either comparator worker groups. Medium\u2010term outcomes remained statistically insignificant across occupational comparisons. Additional analyses of individual GHQ items and potential mechanisms (financial stability and social isolation) suggest limited heterogeneous effects for each worker group using yearly data. While all studied groups exhibited some deterioration in mental health after 2020, HSC workers' trajectories largely mirrored those of other KWs and non\u2010KWs, suggesting that factors such as stable employment and financial security may have cushioned the psychological impact for this sector.<\/jats:p>","DOI":"10.1002\/hec.70090","type":"journal-article","created":{"date-parts":[[2026,3,10]],"date-time":"2026-03-10T04:16:31Z","timestamp":1773116191000},"page":"960-977","update-policy":"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.1002\/crossmark_policy","source":"Crossref","is-referenced-by-count":0,"title":["The Mental Health Impact of the COVID\u201019 Pandemic on Health and Social Care Workers"],"prefix":"10.1002","volume":"35","author":[{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0002-6329-4507","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Victoria","family":"Serra\u2010Sastre","sequence":"first","affiliation":[{"name":"City St George's University of London  London UK"},{"name":"London School of Economics and Political Science  London UK"},{"name":"Office of Health Economics  London UK"}],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0002-7126-4236","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Jaime","family":"Pinilla","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Universidad de Las Palmas de Gran Canaria  Las Palmas de Gran Canaria Spain"}],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0002-4328-1450","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Wasana","family":"Kalansooriya","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"King's College London  London UK"}],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]}],"member":"311","published-online":{"date-parts":[[2026,3,9]]},"reference":[{"key":"e_1_2_11_2_1","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.1192\/bjo.2022.26"},{"key":"e_1_2_11_3_1","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.1016\/j.jad.2021.05.117"},{"key":"e_1_2_11_4_1","article-title":"Mental Health of Keyworkers in the UK During the Covid\u201019 Pandemic: A Cross\u2010Sectional Analysis of a Community Cohort","author":"Ayling K.","year":"2020","journal-title":"medRxiv"},{"key":"e_1_2_11_5_1","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.1111\/1475\u20105890.12239"},{"issue":"4","key":"e_1_2_11_6_1","article-title":"\u201cAn Emergency Within the Emergency\u201d: The Effect of Government Policies on the Mental Health and Wellbeing of the Population of England During the Covid\u201019 Pandemic","author":"Barrett S.","year":"2024","journal-title":"Revue Fran\u00b8caise de Civilisation Britannique: French Journal of British Studies"},{"key":"e_1_2_11_7_1","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.1186\/s41687\u2010022\u201000467\u20106"},{"key":"e_1_2_11_8_1","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.1016\/j.cpr.2021.102006"},{"key":"e_1_2_11_9_1","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.1371\/journal.pone.0188418"},{"key":"e_1_2_11_10_1","volume-title":"Public Spending During the covid\u201019 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