Association between work stress and mental health in Chinese public health workers during the COVID-19 epidemic: mediating role of social support and self-efficacy.

Work stress has significant direct and indirect effects on mental health among primary PHWs. Enhancing social support and self-efficacy may be effective psychological interventions to mitigate the effects of work-related stress on mental health. These findings highlight the severity of mental health problems among primary public health workers and provide new evidence for early prevention and effective intervention strategies.