Post-COVIDmental health of librarians in Vietnam

Abstract

This study aims to measure the mental well-being levels of librarians in Vietnamin the new normal context after the COVID-19 pandemic. The findings are expected to advocate for future policy interventions regarding mental health carefor staffin Vietnam’s librariesand information centerssince the pandemic has made coping with crises recognised globally as an integral part of life. On this ground, a survey was designed and administered online for librarians across Vietnam to self-rate their 5 dimensions of psychological generalwell-being using the WHO-5 [1]together with the Revised Life Orientation Test (LOT-R) [2],and Strahan-Gerbasi’s 1972 short version of the Marlow‐Crowne Social Desirability Scale [3].The survey shows despite the low mid-COVID mental health, there was a statisticallysignificant increase in mental health scores in the new normal. There are abouttwo-thirds of the surveyed librarians areinfected with COVID-19. For either the mid-or post-COVIDmental health, there was a statistically significant difference in scores between the infected and uninfected ones. Threeindependent-samplet-tests on genders, marital and parenthood statuses only found statistically significant differences in mid-and post-COVIDmental health scores between different marital and parenthood statuses, with the unmarried and the ones with no children scoring higher on both mid-and post-COVIDmental health over their counterparts. Eight one-way between-groups ANOVA tests conducted on a wide range of demographics (geographical area, library type, library size, age, seniority, position, specialization, and qualification) only showed statistically significant differences in mid- 2and post-COVIDmental health scores between different age groups, seniority levels, and types of position.