Response of Sri Lanka's Public Health Inspectors to Job Demand-Resource Interplay during COVID-19 Pandemic

Abstract

The outbreak of the new coronavirus (COVID-19) continues to spread globally. The most vulnerable group to this virus includes frontline healthcare workers both hospital and community-based. Though many studies have explored experiences of hospital-based healthcare staff, minimal attention has been given to explore experiences of community-based public healthcare workers who play an equally perilous role in combatting the disease. This study bridges the gap by exploring experiences and responses of Sri Lanka's Public Health Inspectors (PHIs) to COVID-19 related job demands. PHIs were often satisfied of the service they were able to render to the public in combatting the virus; however, work pressures, workload, work-life imbalance, lack of empowerment, limited recognition and rewards led to significant experiences of emotional exhaustion among them.