Calm me down, or I'll leave: anxiety and institutional support among Ukrainian academic staff during wartime

Calm me down, or I'll leave: anxiety and institutional support among Ukrainian academic staff during wartime | Research Square window.SnipcartSettings = { analytics: { enabled: false } }; (function() { var accessVector = localStorage.getItem('access_vector') || ''; window.dataLayer = window.dataLayer || []; if (accessVector) { window.dataLayer.push({ user: { profile: { profileInfo: { snid: accessVector } } } }); } })(); (function(w,d,s,l,i){w[l]=w[l]||[];w[l].push({'gtm.start':new Date().getTime(),event:'gtm.js'});var f=d.getElementsByTagName(s)[0],j=d.createElement(s),dl=l!='dataLayer'?'&l='+l:'';j.async=true;j.src='https://www.googletagmanager.com/gtm.js?id='+i+dl;f.parentNode.insertBefore(j,f);})(window,document,'script','dataLayer','GTM-K279D39R'); Browse Preprints In Review Journals COVID-19 Preprints AJE Video Bytes Research Tools Research Promotion AJE Professional Editing AJE Rubriq About Preprint Platform In Review Editorial Policies Our Team Advisory Board Help Center Sign In Submit a Preprint Cite Share Download PDF Research Article Calm me down, or I'll leave: anxiety and institutional support among Ukrainian academic staff during wartime Yana Suchikova, Uliana Kolomiiets, Anastasia Popova, Hanna Lopatina, and 1 more This is a preprint; it has not been peer reviewed by a journal. https://doi.org/ 10.21203/rs.3.rs-5125365/v1 This work is licensed under a CC BY 4.0 License Status: Published Journal Publication published 18 Dec, 2024 Read the published version in BMC Public Health → Version 1 posted 9 You are reading this latest preprint version Abstract Background Mental health conditions among academic staff are a growing global concern, driven by factors such as heavy workloads, job insecurity, and a lack of institutional support. Anxiety, one of the most common mental health disorders, is particularly widespread in academia, affecting cognitive function and productivity. In Ukraine, the ongoing war has intensified these challenges, creating unprecedented working conditions for academic staff. This study investigates the prevalence of anxiety among Ukrainian academics during wartime. It explores the impact on their desire to change careers and the perceived effectiveness of institutional mental health support. Methods This cross-sectional study surveyed 429 academic staff from Ukrainian higher education institutions between December 2023 and February 2024. Anxiety levels were measured using the Generalized Anxiety Disorder (GAD-7) scale, while additional questions assessed the desire to change professions and the perceived effectiveness of institutional mental health support. The data were analyzed using chi-squared tests, correlation analysis, and Ordinary Least Squares (OLS) regression. Results The findings revealed that 37.1% of respondents experienced moderate anxiety, while 20.3% reported severe anxiety. There was a significant relationship between higher anxiety levels and an increased likelihood of considering a career change. While 90.2% of respondents viewed institutional mental health support as important, many felt that the existing programs were ineffective. Greater accessibility to psychological support services was associated with lower anxiety levels. Conclusions The high prevalence of anxiety among Ukrainian academic staff during the war highlights the urgent need for targeted mental health interventions. Institutional support – such as accessible psychological services- is important in the ongoing war conditions. These findings underscore the broader implications of anxiety for the sustainability of Ukraine's educational and scientific sector during wartime and emphasize the need for comprehensive mental health programs tailored to the unique challenges faced by academics in wartime. Mental health Anxiety disorders Academic staff War trauma Institutional support professional choice Ukraine war. Figures Figure 1 Figure 2 Figure 3 Backgrounds Mental health issues are increasingly recognized as serious concerns in academia worldwide [ 1 , 2 , 3 ]. Academic staff are regularly exposed to numerous stressors inherent to their positions, including heavy workloads, tight deadlines, financial uncertainty, and balancing research, teaching, and administrative duties [ 4 , 5 , 6 ]. These typical stressors are compounded by job insecurity [ 7 , 8 ] and limited institutional support [ 9 ]. The combination of personal and professional stressors can lead to burnout, anxiety, job dissatisfaction, and disengagement from research activities, weakening academic and educational infrastructure [ 10 , 11 , 12 ]. Anxiety is one of the most common mental health disorders [ 13 ], and studies have shown that it is prevalent among academic staff [ 14 , 15 , 16 ]. Anxiety affects not only the mental health of academic staff but also their professional capacity. High anxiety levels can impair cognitive functions [ 17 , 18 ], reduce creativity, and lower productivity, ultimately hindering their academic potential [ 19 , 20 ]. More importantly, anxiety disorders contribute to the growing desire among academic staff to leave their profession or transition to another field altogether [ 21 , 22 , 23 ]. This phenomenon is of particular concern in fields that require constant mental effort and focus [ 24 ], as heightened anxiety can drive skilled professionals away from careers where their contributions are most needed. For instance, Winefield and Jarrett found that chronic work-related stress strongly predicts job dissatisfaction and the desire to leave academia, particularly without institutional support [ 25 ]. Similarly, Gillespie et al. highlighted that high levels of anxiety and stress among academic staff increase their intentions to leave the profession, primarily due to heavy workloads and a lack of support systems [ 26 ]. Mental health is also critical in determining an individual’s ability to function effectively during crises [ 27 , 28 , 29 ]. Existing literature indicates that social crises, such as COVID-19, significantly increase the prevalence of anxiety disorders, particularly generalized anxiety disorder (GAD) [ 30 , 31 , 32 ]. In the context of Ukraine, the challenges faced by academic staff are amplified by the ongoing full-scale war, which has lasted for over 2.5 years. They are forced to work under unprecedented conditions, including constant shelling, missile attacks, power outages, and working or teaching in bomb shelters [ 33 , 34 ]. Many academic staff are now working remotely due to the impossibility of conducting in-person classes, especially in areas near the frontlines or at relocated universities [ 35 , 36 ]. Some universities have adopted the "University without Walls" model, emphasizing virtual workspaces and a distributed approach to higher education and research [ 37 , 38 ]. While necessary for safety, this shift poses additional challenges in maintaining engagement, focus, and productivity and addressing mental health concerns [ 39 , 40 ]. Studies conducted in peacetime across various countries consistently report lower levels of anxiety disorders among academic staff compared to regions affected by military conflict. For example, Sharma, Shrestha, and Saha found that 26.7% of educators in metropolitan areas experienced anxiety, indicating significant but manageable levels of stress in relatively stable environments [ 41 ]. However, in the context of war, anxiety levels among academic staff rise sharply. For instance, Lim et al. found that 38.6% of educators working during military conflicts experienced anxiety disorders. In their meta-analysis of 41 studies on anxiety during and after wars, they reported that the prevalence of anxiety disorders during wartime was 43.4%, significantly higher than the post-war prevalence of 30.3% [ 42 ]. These findings suggest that prolonged stress and uncertainty during war exacerbate anxiety levels, creating a more challenging environment for continuing work, including the academic environment. During crises such as war, the need for mental health support becomes even more acute, especially for those continuing to fulfill their professional duties under such conditions [ 43 ]. Academic staff, who continue working and ensure the educational process in such times, are under pressure, facing significant stress and anxiety due to the demands of their work, intensified by the war [ 44 ]. These factors significantly impact their mental health, increasing the risk of developing anxiety disorders [ 39 ]. Given these conditions, it is crucial to explore how the wartime context specifically affects the mental health of academic staff in Ukraine. While there is some research on anxiety among the civilian population during wartime, fewer studies have focused on how this impacts the professional activities of academic staff. This gap in the literature raises essential questions about the extent to which anxiety among academic staff is influenced by their unique professional circumstances and the broader wartime environment. Given the prevalence of anxiety, it is essential to explore the types of support that are most important to academic staff. The absence of adequate support may not only leave mental health issues unaddressed but also contribute to the degradation of the educational and scientific sectors, including the loss of human capital. Systematic reviews suggest a lack of mental health support programs in higher education institutions (HEIs). For example, Ohadomere and Ogamba’s research indicates that although mental health issues among academic staff are a global concern, most HEIs focus more on corporatization and student satisfaction, unintentionally neglecting the impact of these processes on staff well-being [ 45 ]. The authors also note that despite the stated priorities of university leadership regarding staff well-being, research on the effectiveness of managerial strategies to reduce stress and support mental health is minimal. Additionally, a review by Fernandez et al. shows that while universities may serve as environments for promoting mental health, most strategies are aimed at students, with only a small portion of research addressing faculty [ 46 ]. The most promising interventions involved changes in teaching and assessment methods, but there are no clear and effective policies for supporting the mental health of HEI staff. Thus, these reviews underscore the need to enhance mental health support programs for academic staff and systematically implement structural changes to improve their well-being. This study explores the prevalence of anxiety among Ukrainian academic staff during the full-scale war to understand the factors associated with anxiety, including the desire to change professions and the assessment of institutional mental health support. Understanding these relationships is vital for several reasons. First, identifying the prevalence and severity of anxiety can serve as the basis for targeted interventions aimed at supporting the mental well-being of educators during such turbulent times. Second, examining the desire to change professions may shed light on the war's broader impact on human capital and career stability in academia during wartime, highlighting areas where support can mitigate these effects. Finally, evaluating institutional mental health support and its impact on anxiety levels can assist HEIs in developing or maintaining programs that better meet the mental health needs of staff. By identifying these relationships, the study aims to comprehensively understand how external stressors and institutional support systems interact, ultimately guiding policies and practices to foster a healthier academic environment during wartime. Based on these considerations, this study addresses the following research questions: What are the levels of anxiety disorders observed among Ukrainian academic staff during the full-scale war? What is the relationship between anxiety levels and the desire to change professions among Ukrainian academic staff during wartime? How does institutional mental health support correlate with anxiety levels among Ukrainian academic staff? How do academic staff perceive the current institutional mental health support, and what support do they consider most necessary during wartime? Methods Study design and data collection This study employed a cross-sectional analytical design, gathering data through an online survey. A pilot test with 15 academic staff was conducted beforehand to ensure question clarity and confirm that the survey could be completed within 12 minutes. Data collection took place between December 2023 and February 2024. The survey was distributed to academic staff at Ukrainian HEIs via email using Google Forms, ensuring participant anonymity and voluntary participation. The inclusion criteria were academic staff working in Ukrainian HEIs during the full-scale war period. Participants were informed of the study's objectives and provided informed consent before participating. Measures The online survey comprised a questionnaire, which took 10 to 15 minutes to complete. It consisted of three sections: (a) demographic and professional characteristics; (b) self-assessments; (c) institutional support. The first section collected background information, including age, gender, scientific degree, job title, changes in personal residence during the full-scale war, and university relocation due to the full-scale war. The second section used the self-reported Generalized Anxiety Disorder (GAD-7) questionnaire. The GAD-7 was selected due to its proven validity and reliability as a widely used screening tool for identifying and assessing the severity of GAD. It has been translated into Ukrainian, making it suitable for this study [ 47 ]. Participants responded to how frequently they experienced anxiety symptoms over the preceding two weeks using a 4-point Likert scale (0 = not at all, 1 = several days, 2 = more than half the days, and 3 = nearly every day). Scores from the seven items were summed to provide a total score ranging from 0 to 21. Based on receiver operating characteristic analysis, the GAD-7 cut-off scores of ≥ 5, ≥10, and ≥ 15 indicate mild, moderate, and severe anxiety levels, respectively. The third section of the questionnaire included the following questions: Participants were asked, "Since the start of the full-scale war, how often have you seriously considered changing your professional field?" with possible answers: Almost never – 1, Rarely – 2, Often – 3, I prefer not to say – 4. Respondents assessed the level of mental health support at their higher education institution on a scale from 0 to 5, where 0 is low and 5 is high. The third question concerned the availability of programs or initiatives for supporting the mental health of educators. Participants were asked, "Does your higher education institution have programs or initiatives for supporting the mental health of academic staff?" with possible answers: Don't know No, but it is necessary to implement No, and it is not necessary Yes, but they are ineffective Yes, and they are effective. The next question required participants to rate the availability of mental health support at their institution on a scale from 0 to 5, where 0 is low and 5 is high. Additionally, participants were asked to choose effective initiatives for supporting the mental health of academic staff from the following list (multiple answers were possible): Accessible consultations with professional psychologists for academic staff Peer-to-peer support groups for academic staff Self-help practices Courses on mental health topics Stress resilience and mental well-being training sessions Dedicated mobile apps for academic staff mental health support Your opinion. Sample characteristics The study included 429 Ukrainian academic staff, representing a diverse cross-section of individuals affected by the full-scale war in Ukraine (Table 1 ). Table 1 Demographic and professional characteristics of participants Variable Subcategory Name Distribution, % (N) Mean [st.d.] Age Under 35 17% (73) 2.39 [0.87] 35–45 years 35.4% (153) 46–60 years 38.9% (167) 61 older 8.7% (37) Gender Male 25.4% (109) 0.75 [0.43] Female 74.6% (320) Scientific Degree PhD Students 19.4% (83) 2.83 [0.88] PhD Holder 63.6% (273) Doctor of Science 17% (73) Job Title Assistant 9.6% (41) 2.8 [0.82] Senior Lecturer 16.5% (71) Associate Professor 57.4% (246) Professor 16.5% (71) Change of permanent personal residence Internal Migrants 30.1% (129) 1.59 [0.73] External Migrants 14.4% (62) Remained in Place 55.5% (238) Note: (N) – number of respondents, indicated in parentheses; [st.d] – standard deviation, indicated in square brackets Table 1 presents an overview of the participants' demographic and professional characteristics amid an ongoing war in Ukraine. The largest age group was 46–60; most participants were female. Most participants held a PhD Holder and the title of Associate Professor. The data also highlighted the impact of the war on personal residence, with over half of the participants staying in place while others became internal or external migrants. Statistical analysis The data collected through Google Forms was downloaded into an Excel spreadsheet and imported into STATA® software for analysis. Before importing into STATA, a logical control of the empirical base was conducted. Descriptive statistics were calculated to understand the distribution of GAD levels among the participants. This included each anxiety level's mean, median, standard deviation, and percentile ranges. A chi-squared test was used to examine the relationship between anxiety levels and the desire to change the professional field, assessing whether there were significant differences in the distribution of responses across different levels of anxiety. Correlation analysis was performed using a contingency table with Pearson's chi-squared coefficient to evaluate the strength and direction of relationships between anxiety levels and various factors, including the desire to change professional fields and the perception of institutional support. Ordinary Least Squares (OLS) regression analysis was conducted to identify significant predictors of anxiety levels, with independent variables including the desire to change professional fields, the perceived importance of mental health support, institutional culture, availability of institutional programs, and the availability of psychological support. A non-parametric Two-sample Wilcoxon rank-sum (Mann-Whitney) test was used to compare differences in anxiety levels across different categories of institutional support. Limitations of the research Despite efforts, several limitations were identified in the study. Non-randomized convenience sampling was employed, impacting the representativeness and generalizability of the findings. The ongoing war necessitated this approach, physical distancing measures, and migration within the academic community. The cross-sectional design restricted the ability to evaluate the temporality of events, making it challenging to establish causality. Moreover, reliance on self-reported conditions may have resulted in the underreporting of mental health issues and the introduction of social desirability bias. Finally, the unknown number of individuals who viewed the online invitations complicated the determination of the survey response rate and assessing the sample's representativeness. Results This section presents the findings of the prevalence and severity of GAD among Ukrainian academic staff, as well as the factors influencing these levels, such as the desire to change professional fields and the effectiveness of current institutional mental health support. Generalized anxiety disorders among Ukrainian academic staff in wartime The study included a total of 429 Ukrainian academic staff, representing a diverse cross-section of individuals affected by the full-scale war in Ukraine. The data from Table 1 reveals the prevalence and severity of GAD (Fig. 1 ). This data allows for an in-depth understanding of the prevalence and severity of generalized anxiety disorders within the sample. Upon examining the data, it becomes evident that the largest proportion of the sample, 37.1%, falls under the category of moderate anxiety, indicating this is the most prevalent level of anxiety among academic staff. In contrast, severe anxiety is observed in 20.3% of the sample, making it the least common but still significant. A more detailed analysis reveals that individuals with mild anxiety, representing 18.6% of the participants, have a median GAD score of 3, with a mean of 2.44 and a standard deviation of 1.35. Those with moderate anxiety, the largest group, exhibit a median GAD score of 7 and a mean of 6.97, with a standard deviation of 1.28. In the moderately severe anxiety category, which comprises 24% of the population, the median GAD score is 12, and the mean is 11.84, with a standard deviation of 1.42. Finally, individuals with severe anxiety, accounting for 20.3% of the sample, have a median GAD score of 18, with a mean of 18.08 and a standard deviation of 2.37. The data underscores that moderate anxiety is the most frequently occurring level among the participants, followed by moderately severe anxiety. Despite its lower prevalence, severe anxiety affects a considerable portion of Ukrainian academic staff. The progression of increasing median and mean GAD scores with higher anxiety levels highlights a clear trend in the severity of symptoms. After assessing anxiety levels among academic staff, it was important to understand the factors that might influence this. To achieve this, we analyzed data on the desire to change professional fields and respondents' evaluation of institutional support for mental health during the full-scale war to identify possible factors contributing to the observed levels of anxiety among the academic staff. Table 2 Characteristics of variables related to mental health support among Ukrainian academic staff Variables Mean (st.d) Min-Max Desire to change professional fields 3.12 (0.91) 1–4 Importance of institutional mental health support 4.42 (0.71) 1–5 Level of institutional culture regarding mental health support 1.87 (0.77) 1–3 Availability of institutional programs or initiatives for institutional mental health support for academic staff 3.42 (1.10) 1–5 Accessibility of psychological support for academic staff 2.32 (1.75) 0–5 Table 2 presents the summary statistics for five key variables related to the desire to change professional fields and mental health support among academic staff. Overall, academic staff moderately desire to change their professional fields, with a mean value of 3.12 out of 4, indicating a notable interest in changing jobs. The importance of institutional mental health support is rated quite highly (mean value of 4.42 out of a maximum of 5), reflecting the recognition of its significance among respondents. However, the level of institutional culture regarding mental health support receives lower ratings (mean value of 1.87 out of a maximum of 3), suggesting a need for improvement in this area. The availability of institutional programs for mental health support is rated at a moderate level (mean value of 3.42 out of a maximum of 5). The accessibility of psychological support for academic staff is relatively low (mean value of 2.32 out of a maximum of 5). Interestingly, the importance of institutional mental health support has the highest mean value among all variables (4.42), emphasizing the widespread recognition of the need for such support among academic staff. The level of institutional culture regarding mental health support received low ratings (1.87), pointing to possible gaps in institutional efforts in this area. The accessibility of psychological support for academic staff shows significant variation (standard deviation of 1.75), with ratings ranging from 0 to 5. This indicates that while some academic staff may access quality support, others have little to no access. On average, academic staff rate their desire to change professional fields at 3.12, suggesting that this desire is noteworthy, though not overly prevalent. The relationship between anxiety and the desire to change professional fields An analysis of academic staff responses to the question, "How often since the start of the full-scale war have you seriously considered changing your professional field?" indicates that 27.5% of respondents have almost never considered changing their professional field (Fig. 2 ). In contrast, 15.4% of respondents have extremely often or always considered changing their professional field. Another 24% of respondents have rarely thought about it, while 30.1% have often had such thoughts. Meanwhile, 3% of respondents preferred not to answer this question. Thus, most respondents often considered changing their professional field, while the smallest preferred not to answer this question. These data highlight that many respondents often considered changing their professional field, which may indicate dissatisfaction with current working conditions or a desire for change due to the war. At the same time, many respondents rarely or almost never considered the possibility of changing their professional field during the full-scale war. The next step in the analysis was to establish the relationship between the level of anxiety and the desire to change professional fields among academic staff (Table 3 ). Table 3 Relationship between anxiety and the desire to change professional fields among Ukrainian academic staff Desire to change professional fields GAD Mild anxiety n (%) Moderate anxiety n (%) Moderately severe anxiety n (%) Severe anxiety n (%) Almost never 44 (55) 49 (30.8) 14 (13.6) 11 (12.6) Sometimes 15 (18.8) 51 (32.1) 18 (17.5) 19 (21.8) Always 18 (22.5) 55 (34.6) 67 (65) 55 (63.2) Prefer not to answer 3 (3.8) 4 (2.5) 4 (3.9) 2 (2.3) Total 80 (18.6) 159 (37.1) 103 (24) 87 (20.3) Notes: Pearson chi2(9) = 72.90 Pr = 0.000; Likelihood-ratio chi2(9) = 72.00 Pr = 0.000 The general observation indicates that most respondents who constantly thought about changing their professional field have the highest levels of anxiety. Specifically, respondents with moderately severe and severe anxiety most frequently reported constant thoughts about changing their professional field. Meanwhile, those who almost never considered changing their professional field mainly experienced mild or moderate anxiety. Interestingly, those who prefer not to discuss changing jobs have a relatively high level of anxiety. Statistical analysis points to a significant relationship between anxiety levels and the desire to change professional fields, indicating a positive correlation between anxiety levels and the frequency of thoughts about changing professional fields. The results of the regression analysis also confirm that the desire to change professional fields significantly impacts anxiety levels (Table 4 ). The group of respondents who did not consider changing their professional field was used as the baseline for comparison during the regression analysis. All other groups were compared to this baseline group. Table 4 Results of the regression analysis on the impact of the desire to change professional fields on GAD levels Desire to change professional fields Rank GAD GAD 2 RANK-SUM 3 Prefer not to answer (1) 1.46 (0.00) 2.68 * (0.070) GAD(1) > GAD(2) z = 2.02** (0.04) Almost never (2) Base Sometimes (3) 2.58 *** (0.000) GAD(3) < GAD(4) z=-3.4*** (0.00) Always (4) 3.77 *** (0.000) Notes: General OLS, Additional file 1 2 OLS with multifactor explanatory variable, Additional file 1 3 Non-parametric Two-sample Wilcoxon rank-sum (Mann-Whitney) test results, comparing GAD between two requested groups. p -values in parentheses * p < 0.1, ** p < 0.05, *** p < 0.01 Table 4 reveals several important observations. First, the average GAD level increases by 2.58 points for respondents who sometimes consider changing jobs compared to those who do not. This result is statistically significant (p < 0.001), confirming the correlation between occasional thoughts of changing jobs and elevated anxiety levels. Second, for individuals who constantly think about changing their professional field, the average anxiety level increases by 3.77 points compared to the baseline group. This increase is the highest among all groups and is statistically significant (p < 0.001). This indicates that serious considerations about changing one's professional field have a significant impact on anxiety levels. Third, for respondents who declined to answer the question about changing their professional field, the average anxiety level increased by 2.68 points compared to the baseline group. This increase is statistically suggestive, with a p-value of 0.07. This may indicate that these individuals might have hidden anxiety or are attempting to suppress their anxiety, leading to a higher level of anxiety. Overall, the results of the statistical analysis show that increased anxiety levels correlate with the desire to change professional fields. Respondents with higher anxiety levels are more likely to seriously or occasionally consider this compared to those with lower anxiety levels. Respondents who refused to answer also show elevated anxiety levels, which may suggest hidden anxiety or attempts to suppress it. The relationship between anxiety among academic staff and institutional mental health support The next step in the analysis was to assess respondents' subjective perception of various aspects of the existing institutional mental health support for academic staff in HEIs. Specifically, the importance of institutional mental health support, the level of institutional culture regarding mental health support, the availability of institutional programs or initiatives for mental health support for academic staff, and the accessibility of psychological support for academic staff were examined. Table 5 Assessment of the impact of institutional mental health support on anxiety levels Variable Subvariable Rank N (%) Mean (st.d) GAD GAD 2 RANK-SUM 3 Importance of institutional mental health support Absolutely not important (1) 2 (0.5) 10.00 (4.24) 0.49 1.97 (0.69) GAD(1) = GAD(2) z = 0.77 (0.43) No, not important (2) 2 (0.5) 6.50 (4.94) BASE GAD(2) = GAD(3) z =-0.75 (0.45) Neutral (3) 38 (8.8) 9.55 (5.71) 1.71 (0.64) GAD3 = GAD4 z = 0.21 (0.83) Yes, important (4) 158 (36.8) 9.15 (5.37) 1.83 (0.61) GAD(4) = GAD(5) z =-1.3 (0.19) Yes, very important (5) 229 (53.4) 9.84 (5.64) 2.52 Institutional culture regarding mental health support Low (1) 159 (37.1) 11.01 (5.46) -1.05 BASE GAD(1) = GAD2 z = 1.2 (0.22) Moderate (2) 166 (38.7) 10.25 (5.19) 0.74 (0.292) GAD(2) > GAD(3) z = 6.28*** (0.00) High (3) 104 (24.2) 6.19 (4.77) -2.11 ** (0.030) Availability of institutional programs or initiatives for mental health support No, and not needed (1) 5 (1.2) 8.80 (2.39) 0.48 BASE GAD(1) = GAD(2) z =-0.37 (0.71) No, but should be implemented (2) 101 (101) 10.07 (5.29) 1.49 (0.522) GAD(2) > GAD(3) z = 1.85* (0.06) Don't know (3) 125 (29.1) 8.74 (4.87) 1.18 (0.610) GAD(3) GAD(5) z = 6.47*** (0.00) Yes, and they are effective (5) 94 (21.9) 6.84 (4.48) 1.08 (0.655) Accessibility of mental health support Very low (1) 94 (21.9) 11.09 (5.69) -0.52 BASE GAD(0) = GAD(1) Z = 0.41 (0.68) Low (2) 74 (17.2) 10.70 (5.44) -0.049 (0.951) GAD(1) = GAD(2) Z=-1.3 (0.19) Adequate (3) 49 (11.4) 11.94 (5.59) 1.60 * (0.099) GAD(2) > GAD(3) Z = 3.16*** (0.00) Moderate (4) 84 (19.6) 8.79 (4.63) -0.84 (0.359) GAD(3) = GAD(4) Z = 0.23 (0.81) High (5) 65 (15.2) 8.66 (5.29) -0.82 (0.445) GAD(4) > GAD(5) Z = 2.98*** (0.003) Very High 63 (14.7) 5.95 4.60) -3.10 ** (0.013) Notes: General OLS, Additional file 1 2 OLS with multifactor explanatory variable, Additional file 1 3 Non-parametric Two-sample Wilcoxon rank-sum (Mann-Whitney) test results, comparing GAD between two requested groups. p -values in parentheses * p < 0.1, ** p < 0.05, *** p < 0.01 The data presented in Table 5 indicate that most respondents recognize institutional mental health support as important (36.8%) or very important (53.4%). Only 0.5% of respondents consider support to be unimportant or not important, highlighting the widespread acknowledgment of the necessity for such measures. The parameter “importance of institutional support” showed a coefficient of 0.49 (p = 0.16), which is not statistically significant. This suggests that the awareness of the importance of support does not have a substantial impact on anxiety levels among academic staff. In other words, programs and initiatives may be effective even for respondents with certain reservations. These results suggest a potential new hypothesis regarding the destigmatization of mental health issues. However, the majority of respondents rate the level of institutional culture regarding mental health support as low (37.1%) or medium (38.7%). Only 24.2% of academic staff rate the culture level as high, indicating significant room for improvement. The results showed that with an increase of 1 unit in the rating of institutional culture, anxiety levels decreased by 1.05 units. This result is statistically significant (p = 0.03). This indicates that a higher level of institutional support is associated with lower anxiety levels. However, the rank-sum analysis revealed that the relationship is not always linear. For example, the medium level of institutional support had a different effect compared to low or high levels, indicating a more complex interaction between the level of support and anxiety. Regarding the availability of programs or initiatives for mental health support, a significant portion of respondents (23.6%) believe such programs need to be implemented, while 24.2% consider existing programs ineffective. Only 21.9% of academic staff rate existing programs as effective, while 1.2% believe such programs are unnecessary. At the same time, the regression analysis results showed that the availability of programs and initiatives for support has a partially statistically significant impact on anxiety levels (coefficient 0.48, p = 0.08). Specifically, for respondents who consider programs to be ineffective, anxiety levels are significantly higher (coefficient 4.43, p = 0.06), indicating that ineffective programs may even worsen anxiety levels. This underscores the importance of having programs in place and ensuring their effectiveness. Regarding the accessibility of psychological support for academic staff, most respondents rated it very low (21.9%) or low (17.2%). Only 14.7% of academic staff rated support accessibility as very high. This parameter proved significant with an inverse impact on anxiety levels (coefficient − 0.52, p = 0.03). This means that an increase in the accessibility of psychological support by 1 unit decreases anxiety levels by 0.52 units. Additional analysis showed that a higher level of support accessibility significantly reduces anxiety (for example, moving to a high level of accessibility reduces anxiety by 3.10 units, p = 0.01). This indicates that support accessibility is a critically important factor in reducing anxiety. These results highlight the importance of institutional support in reducing anxiety levels and the desire to change professional fields among academic staff during the full-scale war. Particularly crucial is the accessibility of support and the institutional culture of mental health support, which can significantly reduce anxiety. The availability and awareness of the importance of support programs also play a role, but their impact is more complex and requires further investigation. Institutional initiatives for supporting faculty mental health The results of the survey on institutional mental health support identified several key types of assistance academic staff consider most necessary (Fig. 3 ). The organization of accessible consultations with professional psychologists for academic staff (62.2%) is the most common initiative, highlighting the critical need for individual psychological support. Regular stress resilience and mental well-being training sessions (44.3%) generate significant interest, indicating the need to develop stress management skills and improve emotional well-being. Many respondents (35.2%) consider support groups important, indicating the need for collective support and experience sharing. Systematic dissemination of self-help practices (31.2%) is also of interest among academic staff, who wish to regularly receive information on self-help methods to better cope with psychological issues. A quarter of respondents support the organization of courses on mental health topics (25.4%), underscoring the importance of educational activities in this area. The development of dedicated mobile apps for faculty mental health support (16.8%) has less, but still significant, support, indicating a willingness to use modern technology to improve mental health. Additionally, academic staff indicated the need for: Maintaining a work-life balance: "More free time," "Reducing workload," "Reducing the burden of organizational work." The need for a flexible management style and reduction of bureaucratic burden: "The appropriateness of behavior and management style in response to the situation outside, because sometimes the war has taught nothing," "Reduce pointless work and non-core responsibilities," "Just attention and respect for my achievements. I have published 5 Scopus articles this academic year, done many important works, and won an international competition. For this, there was no thanks or bonus from the university. Even the announcement on the university website about my achievements was mixed with those of other faculty," "Humane treatment of academic staff." Providing proper conditions for remote work: "Providing a workspace for conducting online classes." Changes in socio-political conditions: "In a country at war, a person's mental health will never improve," "I manage my problems myself. I just need time to pull myself together and move on." Increased salaries and financial support in the form of bonuses: "Financial support in the form of bonuses, at least for major holidays!" "When salaries are not paid for 6 months, no mental health support measures will help," "Seminars and training are good, but the most important thing is to have a job and a salary, especially now. Because rent and utilities must be paid, getting sick is costly." Overall, the results can provide insights into potential mental health support initiatives at the institutional level. Discussion This study was conducted in the unique context of the ongoing war in Ukraine, focusing on the impact of the war on the mental health of Ukrainian academic staff. The primary focus was on the prevalence and severity of generalized anxiety disorders, the inclination to change professional fields, and the perception of institutional mental health support. In this discussion, we will thoroughly examine the obtained results, explore possible reasons for the observed trends, compare our findings with previous studies, and discuss its practical implications. Firstly, the study revealed a high prevalence of moderate anxiety among academic staff, with a significant proportion of cases classified as severe. These findings align with existing literature suggesting that anxiety among academic staff is prevalent even in peacetime [ 48 , 49 , 50 ]. However, it appears to escalate considerably during military conflict or crisis periods. This is consistent with research indicating that stressors unique to war - such as prolonged uncertainty, disrupted educational systems, and exposure to traumatic conditions - exacerbate mental health conditions [ 51 ]. One of the primary drivers of heightened anxiety in conflict-affected regions is the ongoing war damage and the uncertainty it creates regarding the future [ 52 ]. In addition to these overarching challenges, Ukrainian academic staff face a range of specific stressors, including concerns over their safety and that of their students [ 38 ] and fears about the long-term viability of education within their communities [ 53 , 54 ]. For many, the situation is further complicated by the need to continue working under challenging conditions, such as air raids, blackouts, and forced migration to safer locations to avoid bombings [ 35 , 55 ]. Moreover, the emotional toll of teaching students directly impacted by trauma, combined with a strong sense of duty toward these students' well-being, substantially increases anxiety levels among academic staff compared to their colleagues in more stable environments [ 56 , 57 , 58 ]. When comparing these findings with studies conducted in other high-stress environments, the severity of GAD among Ukrainian academic staff becomes particularly evident. For example, while anxiety levels among academic staff increased during the COVID-19 pandemic in the UK, they did not reach the extreme levels observed in Ukraine, where the additional burden of war plays a significant role [ 59 ]. Similarly, in the US, around 20% of academic staff reported moderate anxiety, with severe cases being rare; the primary stressors were related to work overload and financial instability [ 60 ]. In contrast, the unique challenges posed by the full-scale war in Ukraine likely contribute to the significantly higher prevalence of GAD observed in this study. Overall, while anxiety among academic staff is a common phenomenon in academic environments, the level and impact of this condition vary significantly depending on the specific context. Our study highlights that Ukrainian academic staff working during the war experience greater psychological pressure than their counterparts in other countries. This is due to the general stressors in academia and the extreme conditions caused by military actions. These unique challenges necessitate additional support measures and interventions to maintain their mental health and professional well-being. Secondly, the results of this study indicate a substantial correlation between elevated anxiety levels and an increased desire among academic staff to change professional fields. They experiencing high levels of anxiety were more likely to consider leaving the profession, highlighting the profound impact of the war on their career decisions. This finding aligns with other research showing that elevated stress and mental health challenges often drive educators to seek alternative employment or exit the profession, especially when educational infrastructure is compromised and they feel unable to effectively fulfill their roles while coping with overwhelming demands [ 56 , 57 , 61 ]. Studies suggest that when academic staff experience GAD, their capacity to engage meaningfully with students diminishes, potentially leading to a decline in educational quality and a shift in professional aspirations [ 58 , 62 ]. This phenomenon is particularly pronounced in regions where educational systems have been damaged by conflict, exacerbating stress levels and pushing academic staff to seek less stressful environments or new career paths [ 56 , 57 ]. Similar trends are observed in peaceful regions, where academic staff with high anxiety levels also consider changing professions due to workload pressures and insufficient institutional support [ 63 ]. However, in the Ukrainian context, the immediate threat to life adds a layer of complexity. Third, the findings of this study highlight the critical role of institutional mental health support, particularly in the context of the ongoing war in Ukraine. In a country at war, addressing mental health is an obvious and urgent priority due to its immediate and long-term consequences. Therefore, institutional mental health support for academic staff requires practical, actionable strategies. While factors like physical safety and financial stability – key elements of a stable academic environment – are often beyond the control of institutions during conflict, they can take proactive steps to preserve human capital. This can be achieved by fostering a supportive, psychologically safe environment that addresses the unique needs of academic staff. Institutional measures that promote mental health create an inclusive and supportive atmosphere and build resilience can help mitigate the detrimental effects of an unstable external environment. The study's results demonstrate the importance of institutional support in reducing anxiety levels among academic staff. However, the results indicate that the awareness of this importance does not always correlate with reduced anxiety. This may be due to more complex mechanisms of interaction between institutional culture and mental health, including individual differences in the perception of support, levels of professional burnout, and the overall context in which the support is provided [ 64 ]. For example, a study conducted among healthcare workers during the COVID-19 pandemic found that even with formal institutional support, anxiety reduction did not always occur, particularly among those working in high-risk environments [ 65 ]. This underscores the importance of not only the availability of support but also its effectiveness and adaptation to the needs of academic staff. Awareness that support is available may create a positive effect in combating the stigma of mental health, even if it does not lead to an immediate reduction in anxiety [ 66 ]. Reducing stigma may gradually encourage more active use of support and, ultimately, lower anxiety levels among academic staff. The results also show that for mental health support programs to reduce anxiety effectively, they must be not only available but also genuinely effective. Respondents who rate existing programs as ineffective exhibit significantly higher levels of anxiety, indicating that ineffective programs may not only fail to help but could potentially worsen anxiety. On the other hand, a high level of accessibility to psychological support significantly reduces anxiety. Still, it is essential to note that most respondents rate the accessibility of this support as low or very low. This is a critical challenge since support accessibility reduces anxiety during crises [ 25 ]. Additionally, it is important to note that most respondents rated the level of institutional culture regarding mental health support as low or moderate. This highlights a significant potential for improvement, as a positive institutional culture can substantially reduce anxiety levels among academic staff [ 67 ]. Our findings are consistent with other studies [ 68 ], which emphasize that a comprehensive approach to mental health support – including increasing the accessibility of psychological services and developing effective support programs – is crucial to improving mental health within the academic environment during wartime. This study identifies several forms of support that academic staff find most effective. The most commonly cited initiative is accessible consultations with professional psychologists, underscoring the urgent need for mental health support in coping with the challenges of war. Research confirms that individual consultations reduce anxiety and improve mental health during crises [ 68 ]. Additionally, stress resilience and mental well-being training, such as cognitive-behavioural therapy (CBT), generate strong interest as they help educators build stress management skills and reduce anxiety [ 45 ]. Peer-to-peer support groups are also valued for creating a shared space for collective support, significantly reducing anxiety [ 1 , 69 ]. Self-help practices and disseminating related information are of interest to those seeking regular guidance on managing psychological challenges. Though less popular, other initiatives, such as mental health courses and mobile apps, are still vital in a comprehensive approach to mental health during crises. These findings highlight the need for institutions to develop diverse and adaptable mental health support initiatives to reduce anxiety and maintain the well-being of academic staff during wartime. The implications of these results are significant, as they not only reflect the immediate mental health challenges but also signal potential long-term consequences for the academic workforce, including an increased desire to leave the profession. This stresses the importance of proactive institutional strategies to support academic staff's mental well-being, especially in times of crisis. Conclusion This study underscores the critical importance of mental health among academic staff, especially in wartime. Findings reveal a high prevalence of anxiety disorders among Ukrainian academic staff, driven by both professional responsibilities and the extreme conditions of the full-scale war. This highlights the urgent need for targeted interventions to support their mental health and well-being. Theoretically, this research expands the understanding of how military conflicts uniquely affect the mental health of academic staff, filling a gap in the existing literature that has primarily focused on other professions or crises like the COVID-19 pandemic. Practically, the study suggests the necessity of implementing comprehensive mental health support programs in universities, including psychological consultations, stress resilience training, support groups, and self-help resources. Moreover, the link between high anxiety and the desire to change professions underscores the risk of losing skilled personnel in education and research, emphasizing the need to create conditions that promote job satisfaction and professional growth, even during crises. Lastly, fostering an institutional culture that openly addresses mental health and well-being is essential to reducing anxiety and enhancing the work climate. This study highlights the need for adaptive support programs to preserve academic human capital during wartime. Declarations Ethics approval and consent to participate This study followed strict ethical standards for research involving human participants in accordance with the Declaration of Helsinki and the Belmont Report. All participants provided informed consent and were made aware of their right to withdraw from the study at any time without repercussions. Confidentiality and anonymity of the data were upheld throughout the study. Ethical approval was granted by the Ethics Committee of Berdyansk State Pedagogical University (Protocol No. 12/2023), confirming adherence to high ethical standards. Consent for publication Not applicable. Competing interests The authors declare that there are no conflicts of interest related to the conduct of this study. Funding No funding was received for conducting this study. Author Contribution The conceptualization was carried out by Natalia Tsybuliak and Yana Suchikova. The methodology was developed by Natalia Tsybuliak and Yana Suchikova. Uliana Kolomiiets curated the data. The original draft was written by Natalia Tsybuliak, Hanna Lopatina, and Anastasia Popova. Yana Suchikova performed writing, reviewing, and editing. 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Supplementary Files Additionalfile1.docx Cite Share Download PDF Status: Published Journal Publication published 18 Dec, 2024 Read the published version in BMC Public Health → Version 1 posted Editorial decision: Revision requested 18 Nov, 2024 Reviews received at journal 16 Nov, 2024 Reviewers agreed at journal 09 Nov, 2024 Reviews received at journal 06 Oct, 2024 Reviewers agreed at journal 28 Sep, 2024 Reviewers invited by journal 25 Sep, 2024 Editor assigned by journal 25 Sep, 2024 Submission checks completed at journal 23 Sep, 2024 First submitted to journal 20 Sep, 2024 You are reading this latest preprint version Research Square lets you share your work early, gain feedback from the community, and start making changes to your manuscript prior to peer review in a journal. As a division of Research Square Company, we’re committed to making research communication faster, fairer, and more useful. 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Also discoverable on Platform About Our Team In Review Editorial Policies Advisory Board Help Center Resources Author Services Accessibility API Access RSS feed Manage Cookie Preferences © Research Square 2026 | ISSN 2693-5015 (online) Privacy Policy Terms of Service Do Not Sell My Personal Information {"props":{"pageProps":{"initialData":{"identity":"rs-5125365","acceptedTermsAndConditions":true,"allowDirectSubmit":false,"archivedVersions":[],"articleType":"Research Article","associatedPublications":[],"authors":[{"id":379228701,"identity":"4a5ab27e-6bf0-4e88-9c46-3b6ea905ac5e","order_by":0,"name":"Yana Suchikova","email":"","orcid":"","institution":"Berdyansk State Pedagogical University","correspondingAuthor":false,"prefix":"","firstName":"Yana","middleName":"","lastName":"Suchikova","suffix":""},{"id":379228702,"identity":"36c78b2e-87b5-4d53-a83a-a37090213d09","order_by":1,"name":"Uliana Kolomiiets","email":"","orcid":"","institution":"Sumy State 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Tsybuliak","email":"data:image/png;base64,iVBORw0KGgoAAAANSUhEUgAAAZAAAAAyAQMAAABI0h/eAAAABlBMVEX///8AAABVwtN+AAAACXBIWXMAAA7EAAAOxAGVKw4bAAABAklEQVRIie2PsWrDMBCGz6g0ix7AoXkIT3JDjf0gXSQE7tQ3CEYlkC5+gLxE1s4KhkymWlWy1HjtoNFDh57dDl1sZyxUH+hOHPfxcwAezx+GRkAUgE7wHzzp6WWCj/dK0Ct5r6iLFPhRqmE2qcQLc3RBV6ziUOzCrjbp4bnClE1yP6asS0lC4BVd78VuWdqzfKkFKqf8UY0okZaAiqaRxRTqzpJpVAJVjSumJR3wYlCWn+5VMtPMKFZeYwoZlBtqdcrsXIpt2S3P8Zay2d6tasmZxRQ+dYsRrXVJkcULeXz7OKUZMw/Nu9sko8oA/25XIRahfk1mIQ5LduGyx+Px/CO+ALfYZyJlN5IqAAAAAElFTkSuQmCC","orcid":"","institution":"Berdyansk State Pedagogical University","correspondingAuthor":true,"prefix":"","firstName":"Natalia","middleName":"","lastName":"Tsybuliak","suffix":""}],"badges":[],"createdAt":"2024-09-20 18:24:16","currentVersionCode":1,"declarations":"","doi":"10.21203/rs.3.rs-5125365/v1","doiUrl":"https://doi.org/10.21203/rs.3.rs-5125365/v1","draftVersion":[],"editorialEvents":[{"content":"https://doi.org/10.1186/s12889-024-21040-4","type":"published","date":"2024-12-18T15:56:58+00:00"}],"editorialNote":"","failedWorkflow":false,"files":[{"id":69932170,"identity":"7add75a3-52c0-4d2d-9e95-41e29f88ca13","added_by":"auto","created_at":"2024-11-26 17:54:41","extension":"jpg","order_by":1,"title":"Figure 1","display":"","copyAsset":false,"role":"figure","size":264944,"visible":true,"origin":"","legend":"\u003cp\u003eGeneralized anxiety disorder among Ukrainian academic staff in wartime: (a) mean GAD levels by anxiety severity and (b) percentage distribution by anxiety severity\u003c/p\u003e","description":"","filename":"Figure1.GeneralizedanxietydisorderamongUkrainianacademicstaffinwartime.jpg","url":"https://assets-eu.researchsquare.com/files/rs-5125365/v1/6ffddb24c7eb5003c9053a15.jpg"},{"id":69933090,"identity":"8aa8a999-6d15-4eb4-9031-493f0965744e","added_by":"auto","created_at":"2024-11-26 18:10:41","extension":"jpg","order_by":2,"title":"Figure 2","display":"","copyAsset":false,"role":"figure","size":137132,"visible":true,"origin":"","legend":"\u003cp\u003eFrequency of considering changing professional fields since the start of the full-scale war\u003c/p\u003e","description":"","filename":"Figure2.Frequencyofconsideringchangingprofessionalfieldssincethestartofthefullscalewar.jpg","url":"https://assets-eu.researchsquare.com/files/rs-5125365/v1/fcadbdc985e886ed82b9bde3.jpg"},{"id":69932497,"identity":"f72873e1-ece1-450a-9f6f-240661955c57","added_by":"auto","created_at":"2024-11-26 18:02:41","extension":"jpg","order_by":3,"title":"Figure 3","display":"","copyAsset":false,"role":"figure","size":188123,"visible":true,"origin":"","legend":"\u003cp\u003eInstitutional initiatives for supporting faculty mental health\u003c/p\u003e","description":"","filename":"Figure3.jpg","url":"https://assets-eu.researchsquare.com/files/rs-5125365/v1/088e1ce1e699fefa7aae1236.jpg"},{"id":72202740,"identity":"7da0f756-3d41-42f9-bfcb-dbd4a9bdb55d","added_by":"auto","created_at":"2024-12-23 16:15:51","extension":"pdf","order_by":0,"title":"","display":"","copyAsset":false,"role":"manuscript-pdf","size":1499718,"visible":true,"origin":"","legend":"","description":"","filename":"manuscript.pdf","url":"https://assets-eu.researchsquare.com/files/rs-5125365/v1/a6cf11a4-5591-4cd0-82f4-ff130b23f803.pdf"},{"id":69932167,"identity":"fb6d9fd4-f189-4cfa-8503-154bcf875a6f","added_by":"auto","created_at":"2024-11-26 17:54:41","extension":"docx","order_by":5,"title":"","display":"","copyAsset":false,"role":"supplement","size":24679,"visible":true,"origin":"","legend":"","description":"","filename":"Additionalfile1.docx","url":"https://assets-eu.researchsquare.com/files/rs-5125365/v1/3f2482408ab200d752ffd637.docx"}],"financialInterests":"No competing interests reported.","formattedTitle":"Calm me down, or I'll leave: anxiety and institutional support among Ukrainian academic staff during wartime","fulltext":[{"header":"Backgrounds","content":"\u003cp\u003eMental health issues are increasingly recognized as serious concerns in academia worldwide [\u003cspan citationid=\"CR1\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e1\u003c/span\u003e, \u003cspan citationid=\"CR2\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e2\u003c/span\u003e, \u003cspan citationid=\"CR3\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e3\u003c/span\u003e]. Academic staff are regularly exposed to numerous stressors inherent to their positions, including heavy workloads, tight deadlines, financial uncertainty, and balancing research, teaching, and administrative duties [\u003cspan citationid=\"CR4\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e4\u003c/span\u003e, \u003cspan citationid=\"CR5\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e5\u003c/span\u003e, \u003cspan citationid=\"CR6\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e6\u003c/span\u003e]. These typical stressors are compounded by job insecurity [\u003cspan citationid=\"CR7\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e7\u003c/span\u003e, \u003cspan citationid=\"CR8\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e8\u003c/span\u003e] and limited institutional support [\u003cspan citationid=\"CR9\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e9\u003c/span\u003e]. The combination of personal and professional stressors can lead to burnout, anxiety, job dissatisfaction, and disengagement from research activities, weakening academic and educational infrastructure [\u003cspan citationid=\"CR10\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e10\u003c/span\u003e, \u003cspan citationid=\"CR11\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e11\u003c/span\u003e, \u003cspan citationid=\"CR12\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e12\u003c/span\u003e].\u003c/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eAnxiety is one of the most common mental health disorders [\u003cspan citationid=\"CR13\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e13\u003c/span\u003e], and studies have shown that it is prevalent among academic staff [\u003cspan citationid=\"CR14\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e14\u003c/span\u003e, \u003cspan citationid=\"CR15\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e15\u003c/span\u003e, \u003cspan citationid=\"CR16\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e16\u003c/span\u003e]. Anxiety affects not only the mental health of academic staff but also their professional capacity. High anxiety levels can impair cognitive functions [\u003cspan citationid=\"CR17\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e17\u003c/span\u003e, \u003cspan citationid=\"CR18\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e18\u003c/span\u003e], reduce creativity, and lower productivity, ultimately hindering their academic potential [\u003cspan citationid=\"CR19\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e19\u003c/span\u003e, \u003cspan citationid=\"CR20\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e20\u003c/span\u003e]. More importantly, anxiety disorders contribute to the growing desire among academic staff to leave their profession or transition to another field altogether [\u003cspan citationid=\"CR21\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e21\u003c/span\u003e, \u003cspan citationid=\"CR22\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e22\u003c/span\u003e, \u003cspan citationid=\"CR23\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e23\u003c/span\u003e].\u003c/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eThis phenomenon is of particular concern in fields that require constant mental effort and focus [\u003cspan citationid=\"CR24\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e24\u003c/span\u003e], as heightened anxiety can drive skilled professionals away from careers where their contributions are most needed. For instance, Winefield and Jarrett found that chronic work-related stress strongly predicts job dissatisfaction and the desire to leave academia, particularly without institutional support [\u003cspan citationid=\"CR25\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e25\u003c/span\u003e]. Similarly, Gillespie et al. highlighted that high levels of anxiety and stress among academic staff increase their intentions to leave the profession, primarily due to heavy workloads and a lack of support systems [\u003cspan citationid=\"CR26\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e26\u003c/span\u003e].\u003c/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eMental health is also critical in determining an individual\u0026rsquo;s ability to function effectively during crises [\u003cspan citationid=\"CR27\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e27\u003c/span\u003e, \u003cspan citationid=\"CR28\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e28\u003c/span\u003e, \u003cspan citationid=\"CR29\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e29\u003c/span\u003e]. Existing literature indicates that social crises, such as COVID-19, significantly increase the prevalence of anxiety disorders, particularly generalized anxiety disorder (GAD) [\u003cspan citationid=\"CR30\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e30\u003c/span\u003e, \u003cspan citationid=\"CR31\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e31\u003c/span\u003e, \u003cspan citationid=\"CR32\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e32\u003c/span\u003e].\u003c/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eIn the context of Ukraine, the challenges faced by academic staff are amplified by the ongoing full-scale war, which has lasted for over 2.5 years. They are forced to work under unprecedented conditions, including constant shelling, missile attacks, power outages, and working or teaching in bomb shelters [\u003cspan citationid=\"CR33\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e33\u003c/span\u003e, \u003cspan citationid=\"CR34\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e34\u003c/span\u003e]. Many academic staff are now working remotely due to the impossibility of conducting in-person classes, especially in areas near the frontlines or at relocated universities [\u003cspan citationid=\"CR35\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e35\u003c/span\u003e, \u003cspan citationid=\"CR36\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e36\u003c/span\u003e]. Some universities have adopted the \"University without Walls\" model, emphasizing virtual workspaces and a distributed approach to higher education and research [\u003cspan citationid=\"CR37\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e37\u003c/span\u003e, \u003cspan citationid=\"CR38\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e38\u003c/span\u003e]. While necessary for safety, this shift poses additional challenges in maintaining engagement, focus, and productivity and addressing mental health concerns [\u003cspan citationid=\"CR39\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e39\u003c/span\u003e, \u003cspan citationid=\"CR40\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e40\u003c/span\u003e].\u003c/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eStudies conducted in peacetime across various countries consistently report lower levels of anxiety disorders among academic staff compared to regions affected by military conflict. For example, Sharma, Shrestha, and Saha found that 26.7% of educators in metropolitan areas experienced anxiety, indicating significant but manageable levels of stress in relatively stable environments [\u003cspan citationid=\"CR41\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e41\u003c/span\u003e]. However, in the context of war, anxiety levels among academic staff rise sharply. For instance, Lim et al. found that 38.6% of educators working during military conflicts experienced anxiety disorders. In their meta-analysis of 41 studies on anxiety during and after wars, they reported that the prevalence of anxiety disorders during wartime was 43.4%, significantly higher than the post-war prevalence of 30.3% [\u003cspan citationid=\"CR42\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e42\u003c/span\u003e]. These findings suggest that prolonged stress and uncertainty during war exacerbate anxiety levels, creating a more challenging environment for continuing work, including the academic environment.\u003c/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eDuring crises such as war, the need for mental health support becomes even more acute, especially for those continuing to fulfill their professional duties under such conditions [\u003cspan citationid=\"CR43\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e43\u003c/span\u003e]. Academic staff, who continue working and ensure the educational process in such times, are under pressure, facing significant stress and anxiety due to the demands of their work, intensified by the war [\u003cspan citationid=\"CR44\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e44\u003c/span\u003e]. These factors significantly impact their mental health, increasing the risk of developing anxiety disorders [\u003cspan citationid=\"CR39\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e39\u003c/span\u003e].\u003c/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eGiven these conditions, it is crucial to explore how the wartime context specifically affects the mental health of academic staff in Ukraine. While there is some research on anxiety among the civilian population during wartime, fewer studies have focused on how this impacts the professional activities of academic staff. This gap in the literature raises essential questions about the extent to which anxiety among academic staff is influenced by their unique professional circumstances and the broader wartime environment. Given the prevalence of anxiety, it is essential to explore the types of support that are most important to academic staff. The absence of adequate support may not only leave mental health issues unaddressed but also contribute to the degradation of the educational and scientific sectors, including the loss of human capital.\u003c/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eSystematic reviews suggest a lack of mental health support programs in higher education institutions (HEIs). For example, Ohadomere and Ogamba\u0026rsquo;s research indicates that although mental health issues among academic staff are a global concern, most HEIs focus more on corporatization and student satisfaction, unintentionally neglecting the impact of these processes on staff well-being [\u003cspan citationid=\"CR45\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e45\u003c/span\u003e]. The authors also note that despite the stated priorities of university leadership regarding staff well-being, research on the effectiveness of managerial strategies to reduce stress and support mental health is minimal.\u003c/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eAdditionally, a review by Fernandez et al. shows that while universities may serve as environments for promoting mental health, most strategies are aimed at students, with only a small portion of research addressing faculty [\u003cspan citationid=\"CR46\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e46\u003c/span\u003e]. The most promising interventions involved changes in teaching and assessment methods, but there are no clear and effective policies for supporting the mental health of HEI staff. Thus, these reviews underscore the need to enhance mental health support programs for academic staff and systematically implement structural changes to improve their well-being.\u003c/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eThis study explores the prevalence of anxiety among Ukrainian academic staff during the full-scale war to understand the factors associated with anxiety, including the desire to change professions and the assessment of institutional mental health support. Understanding these relationships is vital for several reasons. First, identifying the prevalence and severity of anxiety can serve as the basis for targeted interventions aimed at supporting the mental well-being of educators during such turbulent times. Second, examining the desire to change professions may shed light on the war's broader impact on human capital and career stability in academia during wartime, highlighting areas where support can mitigate these effects. Finally, evaluating institutional mental health support and its impact on anxiety levels can assist HEIs in developing or maintaining programs that better meet the mental health needs of staff. By identifying these relationships, the study aims to comprehensively understand how external stressors and institutional support systems interact, ultimately guiding policies and practices to foster a healthier academic environment during wartime.\u003c/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eBased on these considerations, this study addresses the following research questions:\u003c/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003cul\u003e\u003cli\u003e\u003cp\u003eWhat are the levels of anxiety disorders observed among Ukrainian academic staff during the full-scale war?\u003c/p\u003e\u003c/li\u003e\u003cli\u003e\u003cp\u003eWhat is the relationship between anxiety levels and the desire to change professions among Ukrainian academic staff during wartime?\u003c/p\u003e\u003c/li\u003e\u003cli\u003e\u003cp\u003eHow does institutional mental health support correlate with anxiety levels among Ukrainian academic staff? How do academic staff perceive the current institutional mental health support, and what support do they consider most necessary during wartime?\u003c/p\u003e\u003c/li\u003e\u003c/ul\u003e\u003c/p\u003e"},{"header":"Methods","content":"\u003cdiv id=\"Sec3\" class=\"Section2\"\u003e\u003ch2\u003eStudy design and data collection\u003c/h2\u003e\u003cp\u003eThis study employed a cross-sectional analytical design, gathering data through an online survey. A pilot test with 15 academic staff was conducted beforehand to ensure question clarity and confirm that the survey could be completed within 12 minutes. Data collection took place between December 2023 and February 2024. The survey was distributed to academic staff at Ukrainian HEIs via email using Google Forms, ensuring participant anonymity and voluntary participation. The inclusion criteria were academic staff working in Ukrainian HEIs during the full-scale war period. Participants were informed of the study's objectives and provided informed consent before participating.\u003c/p\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\n\u003ch3\u003eMeasures\u003c/h3\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThe online survey comprised a questionnaire, which took 10 to 15 minutes to complete. It consisted of three sections:\u003c/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e(a) demographic and professional characteristics;\u003c/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e(b) self-assessments;\u003c/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e(c) institutional support.\u003c/p\u003e\u003c/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eThe first section collected background information, including age, gender, scientific degree, job title, changes in personal residence during the full-scale war, and university relocation due to the full-scale war.\u003c/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eThe second section used the self-reported Generalized Anxiety Disorder (GAD-7) questionnaire. The GAD-7 was selected due to its proven validity and reliability as a widely used screening tool for identifying and assessing the severity of GAD. It has been translated into Ukrainian, making it suitable for this study [\u003cspan citationid=\"CR47\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e47\u003c/span\u003e]. Participants responded to how frequently they experienced anxiety symptoms over the preceding two weeks using a 4-point Likert scale (0\u0026thinsp;=\u0026thinsp;not at all, 1\u0026thinsp;=\u0026thinsp;several days, 2\u0026thinsp;=\u0026thinsp;more than half the days, and 3\u0026thinsp;=\u0026thinsp;nearly every day). Scores from the seven items were summed to provide a total score ranging from 0 to 21. Based on receiver operating characteristic analysis, the GAD-7 cut-off scores of \u0026ge;\u0026thinsp;5, \u0026ge;10, and \u0026ge;\u0026thinsp;15 indicate mild, moderate, and severe anxiety levels, respectively.\u003c/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eThe third section of the questionnaire included the following questions:\u003c/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003col\u003e\u003cspan\u003e\u003cli\u003e\u003cp\u003eParticipants were asked, \"Since the start of the full-scale war, how often have you seriously considered changing your professional field?\" with possible answers: Almost never \u0026ndash; 1, Rarely \u0026ndash; 2, Often \u0026ndash; 3, I prefer not to say \u0026ndash; 4.\u003c/p\u003e\u003c/li\u003e\u003c/span\u003e\u003cspan\u003e\u003cli\u003e\u003cp\u003eRespondents assessed the level of mental health support at their higher education institution on a scale from 0 to 5, where 0 is low and 5 is high.\u003c/p\u003e\u003c/li\u003e\u003c/span\u003e\u003cspan\u003e\u003cli\u003e\u003cp\u003eThe third question concerned the availability of programs or initiatives for supporting the mental health of educators. Participants were asked, \"Does your higher education institution have programs or initiatives for supporting the mental health of academic staff?\" with possible answers:\u003c/p\u003e\u003c/li\u003e\u003c/span\u003e\u003c/ol\u003e\u003c/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003cul\u003e\u003cli\u003e\u003cp\u003eDon't know\u003c/p\u003e\u003c/li\u003e\u003cli\u003e\u003cp\u003eNo, but it is necessary to implement\u003c/p\u003e\u003c/li\u003e\u003cli\u003e\u003cp\u003eNo, and it is not necessary\u003c/p\u003e\u003c/li\u003e\u003cli\u003e\u003cp\u003eYes, but they are ineffective\u003c/p\u003e\u003c/li\u003e\u003cli\u003e\u003cp\u003eYes, and they are effective.\u003c/p\u003e\u003c/li\u003e\u003c/ul\u003e\u003c/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003col\u003e\u003cspan\u003e\u003cli\u003e\u003cp\u003eThe next question required participants to rate the availability of mental health support at their institution on a scale from 0 to 5, where 0 is low and 5 is high.\u003c/p\u003e\u003c/li\u003e\u003c/span\u003e\u003cspan\u003e\u003cli\u003e\u003cp\u003eAdditionally, participants were asked to choose effective initiatives for supporting the mental health of academic staff from the following list (multiple answers were possible):\u003c/p\u003e\u003c/li\u003e\u003c/span\u003e\u003c/ol\u003e\u003c/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003cul\u003e\u003cli\u003e\u003cp\u003eAccessible consultations with professional psychologists for academic staff\u003c/p\u003e\u003c/li\u003e\u003cli\u003e\u003cp\u003ePeer-to-peer support groups for academic staff\u003c/p\u003e\u003c/li\u003e\u003cli\u003e\u003cp\u003eSelf-help practices\u003c/p\u003e\u003c/li\u003e\u003cli\u003e\u003cp\u003eCourses on mental health topics\u003c/p\u003e\u003c/li\u003e\u003cli\u003e\u003cp\u003eStress resilience and mental well-being training sessions\u003c/p\u003e\u003c/li\u003e\u003cli\u003e\u003cp\u003eDedicated mobile apps for academic staff mental health support\u003c/p\u003e\u003c/li\u003e\u003cli\u003e\u003cp\u003eYour opinion.\u003c/p\u003e\u003c/li\u003e\u003c/ul\u003e\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003ch3\u003eSample characteristics\u003c/h3\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThe study included 429 Ukrainian academic staff, representing a diverse cross-section of individuals affected by the full-scale war in Ukraine (Table\u0026nbsp;\u003cspan refid=\"Tab1\" class=\"InternalRef\"\u003e1\u003c/span\u003e).\u003c/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003cdiv class=\"gridtable\"\u003e\u003ctable float=\"Yes\" id=\"Tab1\" border=\"1\"\u003e\u003ccaption language=\"En\"\u003e\u003cdiv class=\"CaptionNumber\"\u003eTable 1\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv class=\"CaptionContent\"\u003e\u003cp\u003eDemographic and professional characteristics of participants\u003c/p\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003c/caption\u003e\u003ccolgroup cols=\"4\"\u003e\u003cdiv align=\"left\" class=\"colspec\" colname=\"c1\" colnum=\"1\"\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv align=\"left\" class=\"colspec\" colname=\"c2\" colnum=\"2\"\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv align=\"left\" class=\"colspec\" colname=\"c3\" colnum=\"3\"\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv align=\"left\" class=\"colspec\" colname=\"c4\" colnum=\"4\"\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003ctbody\u003e\u003ctr\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\" morerows=\"1\" rowspan=\"2\"\u003e\u003cp\u003eVariable\u003c/p\u003e\u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colspan=\"3\" nameend=\"c4\" namest=\"c2\"\u003e\u003cp\u003eSubcategory\u003c/p\u003e\u003c/td\u003e\u003c/tr\u003e\u003ctr\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e\u003cp\u003eName\u003c/p\u003e\u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e\u003cp\u003eDistribution, %\u003c/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e(N)\u003c/p\u003e\u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c4\"\u003e\u003cp\u003eMean\u003c/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e[st.d.]\u003c/p\u003e\u003c/td\u003e\u003c/tr\u003e\u003ctr\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\" morerows=\"3\" rowspan=\"4\"\u003e\u003cp\u003eAge\u003c/p\u003e\u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e\u003cp\u003eUnder 35\u003c/p\u003e\u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e\u003cp\u003e17%\u003c/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e(73)\u003c/p\u003e\u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c4\" morerows=\"3\" rowspan=\"4\"\u003e\u003cp\u003e2.39\u003c/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e[0.87]\u003c/p\u003e\u003c/td\u003e\u003c/tr\u003e\u003ctr\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e\u003cp\u003e35\u0026ndash;45 years\u003c/p\u003e\u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e\u003cp\u003e35.4%\u003c/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e(153)\u003c/p\u003e\u003c/td\u003e\u003c/tr\u003e\u003ctr\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e\u003cp\u003e46\u0026ndash;60 years\u003c/p\u003e\u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e\u003cp\u003e38.9%\u003c/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e(167)\u003c/p\u003e\u003c/td\u003e\u003c/tr\u003e\u003ctr\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e\u003cp\u003e61 older\u003c/p\u003e\u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e\u003cp\u003e8.7%\u003c/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e(37)\u003c/p\u003e\u003c/td\u003e\u003c/tr\u003e\u003ctr\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\" morerows=\"1\" rowspan=\"2\"\u003e\u003cp\u003eGender\u003c/p\u003e\u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e\u003cp\u003eMale\u003c/p\u003e\u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e\u003cp\u003e25.4%\u003c/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e(109)\u003c/p\u003e\u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c4\" morerows=\"1\" rowspan=\"2\"\u003e\u003cp\u003e0.75\u003c/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e[0.43]\u003c/p\u003e\u003c/td\u003e\u003c/tr\u003e\u003ctr\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e\u003cp\u003eFemale\u003c/p\u003e\u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e\u003cp\u003e74.6%\u003c/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e(320)\u003c/p\u003e\u003c/td\u003e\u003c/tr\u003e\u003ctr\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\" morerows=\"2\" rowspan=\"3\"\u003e\u003cp\u003eScientific Degree\u003c/p\u003e\u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e\u003cp\u003ePhD Students\u003c/p\u003e\u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e\u003cp\u003e19.4%\u003c/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e(83)\u003c/p\u003e\u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c4\" morerows=\"2\" rowspan=\"3\"\u003e\u003cp\u003e2.83\u003c/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e[0.88]\u003c/p\u003e\u003c/td\u003e\u003c/tr\u003e\u003ctr\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e\u003cp\u003ePhD Holder\u003c/p\u003e\u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e\u003cp\u003e63.6%\u003c/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e(273)\u003c/p\u003e\u003c/td\u003e\u003c/tr\u003e\u003ctr\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e\u003cp\u003eDoctor of Science\u003c/p\u003e\u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e\u003cp\u003e17%\u003c/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e(73)\u003c/p\u003e\u003c/td\u003e\u003c/tr\u003e\u003ctr\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\" morerows=\"3\" rowspan=\"4\"\u003e\u003cp\u003eJob Title\u003c/p\u003e\u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e\u003cp\u003eAssistant\u003c/p\u003e\u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e\u003cp\u003e9.6%\u003c/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e(41)\u003c/p\u003e\u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c4\" morerows=\"3\" rowspan=\"4\"\u003e\u003cp\u003e2.8\u003c/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e[0.82]\u003c/p\u003e\u003c/td\u003e\u003c/tr\u003e\u003ctr\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e\u003cp\u003eSenior Lecturer\u003c/p\u003e\u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e\u003cp\u003e16.5%\u003c/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e(71)\u003c/p\u003e\u003c/td\u003e\u003c/tr\u003e\u003ctr\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e\u003cp\u003eAssociate Professor\u003c/p\u003e\u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e\u003cp\u003e57.4%\u003c/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e(246)\u003c/p\u003e\u003c/td\u003e\u003c/tr\u003e\u003ctr\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e\u003cp\u003eProfessor\u003c/p\u003e\u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e\u003cp\u003e16.5%\u003c/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e(71)\u003c/p\u003e\u003c/td\u003e\u003c/tr\u003e\u003ctr\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\" morerows=\"2\" rowspan=\"3\"\u003e\u003cp\u003eChange of permanent personal residence\u003c/p\u003e\u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e\u003cp\u003eInternal Migrants\u003c/p\u003e\u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e\u003cp\u003e30.1%\u003c/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e(129)\u003c/p\u003e\u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c4\" morerows=\"2\" rowspan=\"3\"\u003e\u003cp\u003e1.59\u003c/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e[0.73]\u003c/p\u003e\u003c/td\u003e\u003c/tr\u003e\u003ctr\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e\u003cp\u003eExternal Migrants\u003c/p\u003e\u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e\u003cp\u003e14.4%\u003c/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e(62)\u003c/p\u003e\u003c/td\u003e\u003c/tr\u003e\u003ctr\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e\u003cp\u003eRemained in Place\u003c/p\u003e\u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e\u003cp\u003e55.5%\u003c/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e(238)\u003c/p\u003e\u003c/td\u003e\u003c/tr\u003e\u003c/tbody\u003e\u003c/colgroup\u003e\u003ctfoot\u003e\u003ctr\u003e\u003ctd colspan=\"4\"\u003eNote: (N) \u0026ndash; number of respondents, indicated in parentheses; [st.d] \u0026ndash; standard deviation, indicated in square brackets\u003c/td\u003e\u003c/tr\u003e\u003c/tfoot\u003e\u003c/table\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003c/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eTable\u0026nbsp;\u003cspan refid=\"Tab1\" class=\"InternalRef\"\u003e1\u003c/span\u003e presents an overview of the participants' demographic and professional characteristics amid an ongoing war in Ukraine. The largest age group was 46\u0026ndash;60; most participants were female. Most participants held a PhD Holder and the title of Associate Professor. The data also highlighted the impact of the war on personal residence, with over half of the participants staying in place while others became internal or external migrants.\u003c/p\u003e\u003cdiv id=\"Sec6\" class=\"Section2\"\u003e\u003ch2\u003eStatistical analysis\u003c/h2\u003e\u003cp\u003eThe data collected through Google Forms was downloaded into an Excel spreadsheet and imported into STATA\u0026reg; software for analysis. Before importing into STATA, a logical control of the empirical base was conducted.\u003c/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eDescriptive statistics were calculated to understand the distribution of GAD levels among the participants. This included each anxiety level's mean, median, standard deviation, and percentile ranges. A chi-squared test was used to examine the relationship between anxiety levels and the desire to change the professional field, assessing whether there were significant differences in the distribution of responses across different levels of anxiety.\u003c/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eCorrelation analysis was performed using a contingency table with Pearson's chi-squared coefficient to evaluate the strength and direction of relationships between anxiety levels and various factors, including the desire to change professional fields and the perception of institutional support. Ordinary Least Squares (OLS) regression analysis was conducted to identify significant predictors of anxiety levels, with independent variables including the desire to change professional fields, the perceived importance of mental health support, institutional culture, availability of institutional programs, and the availability of psychological support. A non-parametric Two-sample Wilcoxon rank-sum (Mann-Whitney) test was used to compare differences in anxiety levels across different categories of institutional support.\u003c/p\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\n\u003ch3\u003eLimitations of the research\u003c/h3\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eDespite efforts, several limitations were identified in the study. Non-randomized convenience sampling was employed, impacting the representativeness and generalizability of the findings. The ongoing war necessitated this approach, physical distancing measures, and migration within the academic community. The cross-sectional design restricted the ability to evaluate the temporality of events, making it challenging to establish causality. Moreover, reliance on self-reported conditions may have resulted in the underreporting of mental health issues and the introduction of social desirability bias. Finally, the unknown number of individuals who viewed the online invitations complicated the determination of the survey response rate and assessing the sample's representativeness.\u003c/p\u003e"},{"header":"Results","content":"\u003cp\u003eThis section presents the findings of the prevalence and severity of GAD among Ukrainian academic staff, as well as the factors influencing these levels, such as the desire to change professional fields and the effectiveness of current institutional mental health support.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003ch3\u003eGeneralized anxiety disorders among Ukrainian academic staff in wartime\u003c/h3\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThe study included a total of 429 Ukrainian academic staff, representing a diverse cross-section of individuals affected by the full-scale war in Ukraine. The data from Table\u0026nbsp;\u003cspan refid=\"Tab1\" class=\"InternalRef\"\u003e1\u003c/span\u003e reveals the prevalence and severity of GAD (Fig.\u0026nbsp;\u003cspan refid=\"Fig1\" class=\"InternalRef\"\u003e1\u003c/span\u003e).\u003c/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003c/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eThis data allows for an in-depth understanding of the prevalence and severity of generalized anxiety disorders within the sample. Upon examining the data, it becomes evident that the largest proportion of the sample, 37.1%, falls under the category of moderate anxiety, indicating this is the most prevalent level of anxiety among academic staff. In contrast, severe anxiety is observed in 20.3% of the sample, making it the least common but still significant.\u003c/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eA more detailed analysis reveals that individuals with mild anxiety, representing 18.6% of the participants, have a median GAD score of 3, with a mean of 2.44 and a standard deviation of 1.35. Those with moderate anxiety, the largest group, exhibit a median GAD score of 7 and a mean of 6.97, with a standard deviation of 1.28. In the moderately severe anxiety category, which comprises 24% of the population, the median GAD score is 12, and the mean is 11.84, with a standard deviation of 1.42. Finally, individuals with severe anxiety, accounting for 20.3% of the sample, have a median GAD score of 18, with a mean of 18.08 and a standard deviation of 2.37.\u003c/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eThe data underscores that moderate anxiety is the most frequently occurring level among the participants, followed by moderately severe anxiety. Despite its lower prevalence, severe anxiety affects a considerable portion of Ukrainian academic staff. The progression of increasing median and mean GAD scores with higher anxiety levels highlights a clear trend in the severity of symptoms.\u003c/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eAfter assessing anxiety levels among academic staff, it was important to understand the factors that might influence this. To achieve this, we analyzed data on the desire to change professional fields and respondents' evaluation of institutional support for mental health during the full-scale war to identify possible factors contributing to the observed levels of anxiety among the academic staff.\u003c/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003cdiv class=\"gridtable\"\u003e\u003ctable float=\"Yes\" id=\"Tab2\" border=\"1\"\u003e\u003ccaption language=\"En\"\u003e\u003cdiv class=\"CaptionNumber\"\u003eTable 2\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv class=\"CaptionContent\"\u003e\u003cp\u003eCharacteristics of variables related to mental health support among Ukrainian academic staff\u003c/p\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003c/caption\u003e\u003ccolgroup cols=\"3\"\u003e\u003cdiv align=\"left\" class=\"colspec\" colname=\"c1\" colnum=\"1\"\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv align=\"left\" class=\"colspec\" colname=\"c2\" colnum=\"2\"\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv align=\"left\" class=\"colspec\" colname=\"c3\" colnum=\"3\"\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cthead\u003e\u003ctr\u003e\u003cth align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\"\u003e\u003cp\u003eVariables\u003c/p\u003e\u003c/th\u003e\u003cth align=\"left\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e\u003cp\u003eMean\u003c/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e(st.d)\u003c/p\u003e\u003c/th\u003e\u003cth align=\"left\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e\u003cp\u003eMin-Max\u003c/p\u003e\u003c/th\u003e\u003c/tr\u003e\u003c/thead\u003e\u003ctbody\u003e\u003ctr\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\"\u003e\u003cp\u003eDesire to change professional fields\u003c/p\u003e\u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e\u003cp\u003e3.12\u003c/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e(0.91)\u003c/p\u003e\u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e\u003cp\u003e1\u0026ndash;4\u003c/p\u003e\u003c/td\u003e\u003c/tr\u003e\u003ctr\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\"\u003e\u003cp\u003eImportance of institutional mental health support\u003c/p\u003e\u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e\u003cp\u003e4.42\u003c/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e(0.71)\u003c/p\u003e\u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e\u003cp\u003e1\u0026ndash;5\u003c/p\u003e\u003c/td\u003e\u003c/tr\u003e\u003ctr\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\"\u003e\u003cp\u003eLevel of institutional culture regarding mental health support\u003c/p\u003e\u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e\u003cp\u003e1.87 \u003c/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e(0.77)\u003c/p\u003e\u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e\u003cp\u003e1\u0026ndash;3\u003c/p\u003e\u003c/td\u003e\u003c/tr\u003e\u003ctr\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\"\u003e\u003cp\u003eAvailability of institutional programs or initiatives for institutional mental health support for academic staff\u003c/p\u003e\u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e\u003cp\u003e3.42\u003c/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e(1.10)\u003c/p\u003e\u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e\u003cp\u003e1\u0026ndash;5\u003c/p\u003e\u003c/td\u003e\u003c/tr\u003e\u003ctr\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\"\u003e\u003cp\u003eAccessibility of psychological support for academic staff\u003c/p\u003e\u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e\u003cp\u003e2.32\u003c/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e(1.75)\u003c/p\u003e\u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e\u003cp\u003e0\u0026ndash;5\u003c/p\u003e\u003c/td\u003e\u003c/tr\u003e\u003c/tbody\u003e\u003c/colgroup\u003e\u003c/table\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003c/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eTable\u0026nbsp;\u003cspan refid=\"Tab2\" class=\"InternalRef\"\u003e2\u003c/span\u003e presents the summary statistics for five key variables related to the desire to change professional fields and mental health support among academic staff. Overall, academic staff moderately desire to change their professional fields, with a mean value of 3.12 out of 4, indicating a notable interest in changing jobs. The importance of institutional mental health support is rated quite highly (mean value of 4.42 out of a maximum of 5), reflecting the recognition of its significance among respondents. However, the level of institutional culture regarding mental health support receives lower ratings (mean value of 1.87 out of a maximum of 3), suggesting a need for improvement in this area. The availability of institutional programs for mental health support is rated at a moderate level (mean value of 3.42 out of a maximum of 5). The accessibility of psychological support for academic staff is relatively low (mean value of 2.32 out of a maximum of 5).\u003c/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eInterestingly, the importance of institutional mental health support has the highest mean value among all variables (4.42), emphasizing the widespread recognition of the need for such support among academic staff. The level of institutional culture regarding mental health support received low ratings (1.87), pointing to possible gaps in institutional efforts in this area. The accessibility of psychological support for academic staff shows significant variation (standard deviation of 1.75), with ratings ranging from 0 to 5. This indicates that while some academic staff may access quality support, others have little to no access. On average, academic staff rate their desire to change professional fields at 3.12, suggesting that this desire is noteworthy, though not overly prevalent.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003ch3\u003eThe relationship between anxiety and the desire to change professional fields\u003c/h3\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eAn analysis of academic staff responses to the question, \"How often since the start of the full-scale war have you seriously considered changing your professional field?\" indicates that 27.5% of respondents have almost never considered changing their professional field (Fig.\u0026nbsp;\u003cspan refid=\"Fig2\" class=\"InternalRef\"\u003e2\u003c/span\u003e).\u003c/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003c/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eIn contrast, 15.4% of respondents have extremely often or always considered changing their professional field. Another 24% of respondents have rarely thought about it, while 30.1% have often had such thoughts. Meanwhile, 3% of respondents preferred not to answer this question. Thus, most respondents often considered changing their professional field, while the smallest preferred not to answer this question. These data highlight that many respondents often considered changing their professional field, which may indicate dissatisfaction with current working conditions or a desire for change due to the war. At the same time, many respondents rarely or almost never considered the possibility of changing their professional field during the full-scale war.\u003c/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eThe next step in the analysis was to establish the relationship between the level of anxiety and the desire to change professional fields among academic staff (Table\u0026nbsp;\u003cspan refid=\"Tab3\" class=\"InternalRef\"\u003e3\u003c/span\u003e).\u003c/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003cdiv class=\"gridtable\"\u003e\u003ctable float=\"Yes\" id=\"Tab3\" border=\"1\"\u003e\u003ccaption language=\"En\"\u003e\u003cdiv class=\"CaptionNumber\"\u003eTable 3\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv class=\"CaptionContent\"\u003e\u003cp\u003eRelationship between anxiety and the desire to change professional fields among Ukrainian academic staff\u003c/p\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003c/caption\u003e\u003ccolgroup cols=\"5\"\u003e\u003cdiv align=\"left\" class=\"colspec\" colname=\"c1\" colnum=\"1\"\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv align=\"left\" class=\"colspec\" colname=\"c2\" colnum=\"2\"\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv align=\"left\" class=\"colspec\" colname=\"c3\" colnum=\"3\"\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv align=\"left\" class=\"colspec\" colname=\"c4\" colnum=\"4\"\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv align=\"left\" class=\"colspec\" colname=\"c5\" colnum=\"5\"\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cthead\u003e\u003ctr\u003e\u003cth align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\" morerows=\"1\" rowspan=\"2\"\u003e\u003cp\u003eDesire to change professional fields\u003c/p\u003e\u003c/th\u003e\u003cth align=\"left\" colspan=\"4\" nameend=\"c5\" namest=\"c2\"\u003e\u003cp\u003eGAD\u003c/p\u003e\u003c/th\u003e\u003c/tr\u003e\u003ctr\u003e\u003cth align=\"left\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e\u003cp\u003eMild anxiety\u003c/p\u003e\u003cp\u003en (%)\u003c/p\u003e\u003c/th\u003e\u003cth align=\"left\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e\u003cp\u003eModerate anxiety\u003c/p\u003e\u003cp\u003en (%)\u003c/p\u003e\u003c/th\u003e\u003cth align=\"left\" colname=\"c4\"\u003e\u003cp\u003eModerately severe anxiety\u003c/p\u003e\u003cp\u003en (%)\u003c/p\u003e\u003c/th\u003e\u003cth align=\"left\" colname=\"c5\"\u003e\u003cp\u003eSevere anxiety\u003c/p\u003e\u003cp\u003en (%)\u003c/p\u003e\u003c/th\u003e\u003c/tr\u003e\u003c/thead\u003e\u003ctbody\u003e\u003ctr\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\"\u003e\u003cp\u003eAlmost never\u003c/p\u003e\u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e\u003cp\u003e44 (55)\u003c/p\u003e\u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e\u003cp\u003e49 (30.8)\u003c/p\u003e\u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c4\"\u003e\u003cp\u003e14 (13.6)\u003c/p\u003e\u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c5\"\u003e\u003cp\u003e11 (12.6)\u003c/p\u003e\u003c/td\u003e\u003c/tr\u003e\u003ctr\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\"\u003e\u003cp\u003eSometimes\u003c/p\u003e\u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e\u003cp\u003e15 (18.8)\u003c/p\u003e\u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e\u003cp\u003e51 (32.1)\u003c/p\u003e\u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c4\"\u003e\u003cp\u003e18 (17.5)\u003c/p\u003e\u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c5\"\u003e\u003cp\u003e19 (21.8)\u003c/p\u003e\u003c/td\u003e\u003c/tr\u003e\u003ctr\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\"\u003e\u003cp\u003eAlways\u003c/p\u003e\u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e\u003cp\u003e18 (22.5)\u003c/p\u003e\u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e\u003cp\u003e55 (34.6)\u003c/p\u003e\u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c4\"\u003e\u003cp\u003e67 (65)\u003c/p\u003e\u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c5\"\u003e\u003cp\u003e55 (63.2)\u003c/p\u003e\u003c/td\u003e\u003c/tr\u003e\u003ctr\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\"\u003e\u003cp\u003ePrefer not to answer\u003c/p\u003e\u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e\u003cp\u003e3 (3.8)\u003c/p\u003e\u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e\u003cp\u003e4 (2.5)\u003c/p\u003e\u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c4\"\u003e\u003cp\u003e4 (3.9)\u003c/p\u003e\u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c5\"\u003e\u003cp\u003e2 (2.3)\u003c/p\u003e\u003c/td\u003e\u003c/tr\u003e\u003ctr\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\"\u003e\u003cp\u003eTotal\u003c/p\u003e\u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e\u003cp\u003e80 (18.6)\u003c/p\u003e\u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e\u003cp\u003e159 (37.1)\u003c/p\u003e\u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c4\"\u003e\u003cp\u003e103 (24)\u003c/p\u003e\u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c5\"\u003e\u003cp\u003e87 (20.3)\u003c/p\u003e\u003c/td\u003e\u003c/tr\u003e\u003ctr\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colspan=\"5\" nameend=\"c5\" namest=\"c1\"\u003e\u003cp\u003eNotes: Pearson chi2(9)\u0026thinsp;=\u0026thinsp;72.90 Pr\u0026thinsp;=\u0026thinsp;0.000; Likelihood-ratio chi2(9)\u0026thinsp;=\u0026thinsp;72.00 Pr\u0026thinsp;=\u0026thinsp;0.000\u003c/p\u003e\u003c/td\u003e\u003c/tr\u003e\u003c/tbody\u003e\u003c/colgroup\u003e\u003c/table\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003c/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eThe general observation indicates that most respondents who constantly thought about changing their professional field have the highest levels of anxiety. Specifically, respondents with moderately severe and severe anxiety most frequently reported constant thoughts about changing their professional field. Meanwhile, those who almost never considered changing their professional field mainly experienced mild or moderate anxiety. Interestingly, those who prefer not to discuss changing jobs have a relatively high level of anxiety.\u003c/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eStatistical analysis points to a significant relationship between anxiety levels and the desire to change professional fields, indicating a positive correlation between anxiety levels and the frequency of thoughts about changing professional fields.\u003c/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eThe results of the regression analysis also confirm that the desire to change professional fields significantly impacts anxiety levels (Table\u0026nbsp;\u003cspan refid=\"Tab4\" class=\"InternalRef\"\u003e4\u003c/span\u003e). The group of respondents who did not consider changing their professional field was used as the baseline for comparison during the regression analysis. All other groups were compared to this baseline group.\u003c/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003cdiv class=\"gridtable\"\u003e\u003ctable float=\"Yes\" id=\"Tab4\" border=\"1\"\u003e\u003ccaption language=\"En\"\u003e\u003cdiv class=\"CaptionNumber\"\u003eTable 4\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv class=\"CaptionContent\"\u003e\u003cp\u003eResults of the regression analysis on the impact of the desire to change professional fields on GAD levels\u003c/p\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003c/caption\u003e\u003ccolgroup cols=\"5\"\u003e\u003cdiv align=\"left\" class=\"colspec\" colname=\"c1\" colnum=\"1\"\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv align=\"left\" class=\"colspec\" colname=\"c2\" colnum=\"2\"\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv align=\"left\" class=\"colspec\" colname=\"c3\" colnum=\"3\"\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv align=\"left\" class=\"colspec\" colname=\"c4\" colnum=\"4\"\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv align=\"left\" class=\"colspec\" colname=\"c5\" colnum=\"5\"\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cthead\u003e\u003ctr\u003e\u003cth align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\"\u003e\u003cp\u003eDesire to change professional fields\u003c/p\u003e\u003c/th\u003e\u003cth align=\"left\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e\u003cp\u003eRank\u003c/p\u003e\u003c/th\u003e\u003cth align=\"left\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e\u003cp\u003eGAD\u003c/p\u003e\u003c/th\u003e\u003cth align=\"left\" colname=\"c4\"\u003e\u003cp\u003eGAD\u003csup\u003e2\u003c/sup\u003e\u003c/p\u003e\u003c/th\u003e\u003cth align=\"left\" colname=\"c5\"\u003e\u003cp\u003eRANK-SUM\u003csup\u003e3\u003c/sup\u003e\u003c/p\u003e\u003c/th\u003e\u003c/tr\u003e\u003c/thead\u003e\u003ctbody\u003e\u003ctr\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\"\u003e\u003cp\u003ePrefer not to answer\u003c/p\u003e\u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e\u003cp\u003e(1)\u003c/p\u003e\u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c3\" morerows=\"3\" rowspan=\"4\"\u003e\u003cp\u003e1.46\u003c/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e(0.00)\u003c/p\u003e\u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c4\"\u003e\u003cp\u003e2.68\u003csup\u003e*\u003c/sup\u003e\u003c/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e(0.070)\u003c/p\u003e\u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c5\" morerows=\"1\" rowspan=\"2\"\u003e\u003cp\u003eGAD(1)\u0026thinsp;\u0026gt;\u0026thinsp;GAD(2)\u003c/p\u003e\u003cp\u003ez\u0026thinsp;=\u0026thinsp;2.02**\u003c/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e(0.04)\u003c/p\u003e\u003c/td\u003e\u003c/tr\u003e\u003ctr\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\"\u003e\u003cp\u003eAlmost never\u003c/p\u003e\u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e\u003cp\u003e(2)\u003c/p\u003e\u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c4\"\u003e\u003cp\u003eBase\u003c/p\u003e\u003c/td\u003e\u003c/tr\u003e\u003ctr\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\"\u003e\u003cp\u003eSometimes\u003c/p\u003e\u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e\u003cp\u003e(3)\u003c/p\u003e\u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c4\"\u003e\u003cp\u003e2.58\u003csup\u003e***\u003c/sup\u003e\u003c/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e(0.000)\u003c/p\u003e\u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c5\" morerows=\"1\" rowspan=\"2\"\u003e\u003cp\u003eGAD(3)\u0026thinsp;\u0026lt;\u0026thinsp;GAD(4)\u003c/p\u003e\u003cp\u003ez=-3.4***\u003c/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e(0.00)\u003c/p\u003e\u003c/td\u003e\u003c/tr\u003e\u003ctr\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\"\u003e\u003cp\u003eAlways\u003c/p\u003e\u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e\u003cp\u003e(4)\u003c/p\u003e\u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c4\"\u003e\u003cp\u003e3.77\u003csup\u003e***\u003c/sup\u003e\u003c/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e(0.000)\u003c/p\u003e\u003c/td\u003e\u003c/tr\u003e\u003ctr\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colspan=\"5\" nameend=\"c5\" namest=\"c1\"\u003e\u003cp\u003eNotes: \u003c/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eGeneral OLS, Additional file 1\u003c/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003csup\u003e2\u003c/sup\u003e OLS with multifactor explanatory variable, Additional file 1\u003c/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003csup\u003e3\u003c/sup\u003e Non-parametric Two-sample Wilcoxon rank-sum (Mann-Whitney) test results, comparing GAD between two requested groups.\u003c/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003cem\u003ep\u003c/em\u003e-values in parentheses \u003csup\u003e*\u003c/sup\u003e \u003cem\u003ep\u003c/em\u003e\u0026thinsp;\u0026lt;\u0026thinsp;0.1, \u003csup\u003e**\u003c/sup\u003e \u003cem\u003ep\u003c/em\u003e\u0026thinsp;\u0026lt;\u0026thinsp;0.05, \u003csup\u003e***\u003c/sup\u003e \u003cem\u003ep\u003c/em\u003e\u0026thinsp;\u0026lt;\u0026thinsp;0.01\u003c/p\u003e\u003c/td\u003e\u003c/tr\u003e\u003c/tbody\u003e\u003c/colgroup\u003e\u003c/table\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003c/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eTable\u0026nbsp;\u003cspan refid=\"Tab4\" class=\"InternalRef\"\u003e4\u003c/span\u003e reveals several important observations. First, the average GAD level increases by 2.58 points for respondents who sometimes consider changing jobs compared to those who do not. This result is statistically significant (p\u0026thinsp;\u0026lt;\u0026thinsp;0.001), confirming the correlation between occasional thoughts of changing jobs and elevated anxiety levels.\u003c/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eSecond, for individuals who constantly think about changing their professional field, the average anxiety level increases by 3.77 points compared to the baseline group. This increase is the highest among all groups and is statistically significant (p\u0026thinsp;\u0026lt;\u0026thinsp;0.001). This indicates that serious considerations about changing one's professional field have a significant impact on anxiety levels.\u003c/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eThird, for respondents who declined to answer the question about changing their professional field, the average anxiety level increased by 2.68 points compared to the baseline group. This increase is statistically suggestive, with a p-value of 0.07. This may indicate that these individuals might have hidden anxiety or are attempting to suppress their anxiety, leading to a higher level of anxiety.\u003c/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eOverall, the results of the statistical analysis show that increased anxiety levels correlate with the desire to change professional fields. Respondents with higher anxiety levels are more likely to seriously or occasionally consider this compared to those with lower anxiety levels. Respondents who refused to answer also show elevated anxiety levels, which may suggest hidden anxiety or attempts to suppress it.\u003c/p\u003e\u003cdiv id=\"Sec11\" class=\"Section2\"\u003e\u003ch2\u003eThe relationship between anxiety among academic staff and institutional mental health support\u003c/h2\u003e\u003cp\u003eThe next step in the analysis was to assess respondents' subjective perception of various aspects of the existing institutional mental health support for academic staff in HEIs. Specifically, the importance of institutional mental health support, the level of institutional culture regarding mental health support, the availability of institutional programs or initiatives for mental health support for academic staff, and the accessibility of psychological support for academic staff were examined.\u003c/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003cdiv class=\"gridtable\"\u003e\u003ctable float=\"Yes\" id=\"Tab5\" border=\"1\"\u003e\u003ccaption language=\"En\"\u003e\u003cdiv class=\"CaptionNumber\"\u003eTable 5\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv class=\"CaptionContent\"\u003e\u003cp\u003eAssessment of the impact of institutional mental health support on anxiety levels\u003c/p\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003c/caption\u003e\u003ccolgroup cols=\"8\"\u003e\u003cdiv align=\"left\" class=\"colspec\" colname=\"c1\" colnum=\"1\"\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv align=\"left\" class=\"colspec\" colname=\"c2\" colnum=\"2\"\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv align=\"left\" class=\"colspec\" colname=\"c3\" colnum=\"3\"\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv align=\"left\" class=\"colspec\" colname=\"c4\" colnum=\"4\"\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv align=\"left\" class=\"colspec\" colname=\"c5\" colnum=\"5\"\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv align=\"left\" class=\"colspec\" colname=\"c6\" colnum=\"6\"\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv align=\"left\" class=\"colspec\" colname=\"c7\" colnum=\"7\"\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv align=\"left\" class=\"colspec\" colname=\"c8\" colnum=\"8\"\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cthead\u003e\u003ctr\u003e\u003cth align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\"\u003e\u003cp\u003eVariable\u003c/p\u003e\u003c/th\u003e\u003cth align=\"left\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e\u003cp\u003eSubvariable\u003c/p\u003e\u003c/th\u003e\u003cth align=\"left\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e\u003cp\u003eRank\u003c/p\u003e\u003c/th\u003e\u003cth align=\"left\" colname=\"c4\"\u003e\u003cp\u003eN (%)\u003c/p\u003e\u003c/th\u003e\u003cth align=\"left\" colname=\"c5\"\u003e\u003cp\u003eMean\u003c/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e(st.d)\u003c/p\u003e\u003c/th\u003e\u003cth align=\"left\" colname=\"c6\"\u003e\u003cp\u003eGAD\u003c/p\u003e\u003c/th\u003e\u003cth align=\"left\" colname=\"c7\"\u003e\u003cp\u003eGAD\u003csup\u003e2\u003c/sup\u003e\u003c/p\u003e\u003c/th\u003e\u003cth align=\"left\" colname=\"c8\"\u003e\u003cp\u003eRANK-SUM\u003csup\u003e3\u003c/sup\u003e\u003c/p\u003e\u003c/th\u003e\u003c/tr\u003e\u003c/thead\u003e\u003ctbody\u003e\u003ctr\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\" morerows=\"4\" rowspan=\"5\"\u003e\u003cp\u003eImportance of institutional mental health support\u003c/p\u003e\u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e\u003cp\u003eAbsolutely not important\u003c/p\u003e\u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e\u003cp\u003e(1)\u003c/p\u003e\u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c4\"\u003e\u003cp\u003e2\u003c/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e(0.5)\u003c/p\u003e\u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c5\"\u003e\u003cp\u003e10.00\u003c/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e(4.24)\u003c/p\u003e\u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c6\" morerows=\"4\" rowspan=\"5\"\u003e\u003cp\u003e0.49\u003c/p\u003e\u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c7\"\u003e\u003cp\u003e1.97\u003c/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e(0.69)\u003c/p\u003e\u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c8\"\u003e\u003cp\u003eGAD(1)\u0026thinsp;=\u0026thinsp;GAD(2)\u003c/p\u003e\u003cp\u003ez\u0026thinsp;=\u0026thinsp;0.77\u003c/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e(0.43)\u003c/p\u003e\u003c/td\u003e\u003c/tr\u003e\u003ctr\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e\u003cp\u003eNo, not important\u003c/p\u003e\u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e\u003cp\u003e(2)\u003c/p\u003e\u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c4\"\u003e\u003cp\u003e2\u003c/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e(0.5)\u003c/p\u003e\u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c5\"\u003e\u003cp\u003e6.50\u003c/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e(4.94)\u003c/p\u003e\u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c7\"\u003e\u003cp\u003eBASE\u003c/p\u003e\u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c8\"\u003e\u003cp\u003eGAD(2)\u0026thinsp;=\u0026thinsp;GAD(3)\u003c/p\u003e\u003cp\u003ez =-0.75\u003c/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e(0.45)\u003c/p\u003e\u003c/td\u003e\u003c/tr\u003e\u003ctr\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e\u003cp\u003eNeutral\u003c/p\u003e\u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e\u003cp\u003e(3)\u003c/p\u003e\u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c4\"\u003e\u003cp\u003e38\u003c/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e(8.8)\u003c/p\u003e\u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c5\"\u003e\u003cp\u003e9.55\u003c/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e(5.71)\u003c/p\u003e\u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c7\"\u003e\u003cp\u003e1.71\u003c/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e(0.64)\u003c/p\u003e\u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c8\"\u003e\u003cp\u003eGAD3\u0026thinsp;=\u0026thinsp;GAD4\u003c/p\u003e\u003cp\u003ez\u0026thinsp;=\u0026thinsp;0.21\u003c/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e(0.83)\u003c/p\u003e\u003c/td\u003e\u003c/tr\u003e\u003ctr\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e\u003cp\u003eYes, important\u003c/p\u003e\u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e\u003cp\u003e(4)\u003c/p\u003e\u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c4\"\u003e\u003cp\u003e158\u003c/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e(36.8)\u003c/p\u003e\u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c5\"\u003e\u003cp\u003e9.15\u003c/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e(5.37)\u003c/p\u003e\u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c7\"\u003e\u003cp\u003e1.83\u003c/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e(0.61)\u003c/p\u003e\u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c8\" morerows=\"1\" rowspan=\"2\"\u003e\u003cp\u003eGAD(4)\u0026thinsp;=\u0026thinsp;GAD(5)\u003c/p\u003e\u003cp\u003ez =-1.3\u003c/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e(0.19)\u003c/p\u003e\u003c/td\u003e\u003c/tr\u003e\u003ctr\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e\u003cp\u003eYes, very important\u003c/p\u003e\u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e\u003cp\u003e(5)\u003c/p\u003e\u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c4\"\u003e\u003cp\u003e229\u003c/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e(53.4)\u003c/p\u003e\u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c5\"\u003e\u003cp\u003e9.84\u003c/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e(5.64)\u003c/p\u003e\u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c7\"\u003e\u003cp\u003e2.52\u003c/p\u003e\u003c/td\u003e\u003c/tr\u003e\u003ctr\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\" morerows=\"2\" rowspan=\"3\"\u003e\u003cp\u003eInstitutional culture regarding mental health support\u003c/p\u003e\u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e\u003cp\u003eLow\u003c/p\u003e\u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e\u003cp\u003e(1)\u003c/p\u003e\u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c4\"\u003e\u003cp\u003e159\u003c/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e(37.1)\u003c/p\u003e\u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c5\"\u003e\u003cp\u003e11.01\u003c/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e(5.46)\u003c/p\u003e\u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c6\" morerows=\"2\" rowspan=\"3\"\u003e\u003cp\u003e-1.05\u003c/p\u003e\u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c7\"\u003e\u003cp\u003eBASE\u003c/p\u003e\u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c8\"\u003e\u003cp\u003eGAD(1)\u0026thinsp;=\u0026thinsp;GAD2\u003c/p\u003e\u003cp\u003ez\u0026thinsp;=\u0026thinsp;1.2\u003c/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e(0.22)\u003c/p\u003e\u003c/td\u003e\u003c/tr\u003e\u003ctr\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e\u003cp\u003eModerate\u003c/p\u003e\u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e\u003cp\u003e(2)\u003c/p\u003e\u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c4\"\u003e\u003cp\u003e166\u003c/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e(38.7)\u003c/p\u003e\u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c5\"\u003e\u003cp\u003e10.25\u003c/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e(5.19)\u003c/p\u003e\u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c7\"\u003e\u003cp\u003e0.74\u003c/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e(0.292)\u003c/p\u003e\u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c8\" morerows=\"1\" rowspan=\"2\"\u003e\u003cp\u003eGAD(2)\u0026thinsp;\u0026gt;\u0026thinsp;GAD(3)\u003c/p\u003e\u003cp\u003ez\u0026thinsp;=\u0026thinsp;6.28***\u003c/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e(0.00)\u003c/p\u003e\u003c/td\u003e\u003c/tr\u003e\u003ctr\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e\u003cp\u003eHigh\u003c/p\u003e\u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e\u003cp\u003e(3)\u003c/p\u003e\u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c4\"\u003e\u003cp\u003e104\u003c/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e(24.2)\u003c/p\u003e\u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c5\"\u003e\u003cp\u003e6.19\u003c/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e(4.77)\u003c/p\u003e\u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c7\"\u003e\u003cp\u003e-2.11\u003csup\u003e**\u003c/sup\u003e\u003c/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e(0.030)\u003c/p\u003e\u003c/td\u003e\u003c/tr\u003e\u003ctr\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\" morerows=\"4\" rowspan=\"5\"\u003e\u003cp\u003eAvailability of institutional programs or initiatives for mental health support\u003c/p\u003e\u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e\u003cp\u003eNo, and not needed\u003c/p\u003e\u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e\u003cp\u003e(1)\u003c/p\u003e\u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c4\"\u003e\u003cp\u003e5\u003c/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e(1.2)\u003c/p\u003e\u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c5\"\u003e\u003cp\u003e8.80\u003c/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e(2.39)\u003c/p\u003e\u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c6\" morerows=\"4\" rowspan=\"5\"\u003e\u003cp\u003e0.48\u003c/p\u003e\u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c7\"\u003e\u003cp\u003eBASE\u003c/p\u003e\u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c8\"\u003e\u003cp\u003eGAD(1)\u0026thinsp;=\u0026thinsp;GAD(2)\u003c/p\u003e\u003cp\u003ez =-0.37\u003c/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e(0.71)\u003c/p\u003e\u003c/td\u003e\u003c/tr\u003e\u003ctr\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e\u003cp\u003eNo, but should be implemented\u003c/p\u003e\u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e\u003cp\u003e(2)\u003c/p\u003e\u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c4\"\u003e\u003cp\u003e101\u003c/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e(101)\u003c/p\u003e\u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c5\"\u003e\u003cp\u003e10.07\u003c/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e(5.29)\u003c/p\u003e\u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c7\"\u003e\u003cp\u003e1.49\u003c/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e(0.522)\u003c/p\u003e\u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c8\"\u003e\u003cp\u003eGAD(2)\u0026thinsp;\u0026gt;\u0026thinsp;GAD(3)\u003c/p\u003e\u003cp\u003ez\u0026thinsp;=\u0026thinsp;1.85*\u003c/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e(0.06)\u003c/p\u003e\u003c/td\u003e\u003c/tr\u003e\u003ctr\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e\u003cp\u003eDon't know\u003c/p\u003e\u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e\u003cp\u003e(3)\u003c/p\u003e\u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c4\"\u003e\u003cp\u003e125\u003c/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e(29.1)\u003c/p\u003e\u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c5\"\u003e\u003cp\u003e8.74\u003c/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e(4.87)\u003c/p\u003e\u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c7\"\u003e\u003cp\u003e1.18\u003c/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e(0.610)\u003c/p\u003e\u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c8\"\u003e\u003cp\u003eGAD(3)\u0026thinsp;\u0026lt;\u0026thinsp;GAD(4)\u003c/p\u003e\u003cp\u003ez =-4.73***\u003c/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e(0.00)\u003c/p\u003e\u003c/td\u003e\u003c/tr\u003e\u003ctr\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e\u003cp\u003eYes, but they are ineffective\u003c/p\u003e\u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e\u003cp\u003e(4)\u003c/p\u003e\u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c4\"\u003e\u003cp\u003e104\u003c/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e(24.2)\u003c/p\u003e\u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c5\"\u003e\u003cp\u003e12.50\u003c/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e(6.03)\u003c/p\u003e\u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c7\"\u003e\u003cp\u003e4.43\u003csup\u003e*\u003c/sup\u003e\u003c/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e(0.057)\u003c/p\u003e\u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c8\" morerows=\"1\" rowspan=\"2\"\u003e\u003cp\u003eGAD(4)\u0026thinsp;\u0026gt;\u0026thinsp;GAD(5)\u003c/p\u003e\u003cp\u003ez\u0026thinsp;=\u0026thinsp;6.47***\u003c/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e(0.00)\u003c/p\u003e\u003c/td\u003e\u003c/tr\u003e\u003ctr\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e\u003cp\u003eYes, and they are effective\u003c/p\u003e\u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e\u003cp\u003e(5)\u003c/p\u003e\u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c4\"\u003e\u003cp\u003e94\u003c/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e(21.9)\u003c/p\u003e\u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c5\"\u003e\u003cp\u003e6.84\u003c/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e(4.48)\u003c/p\u003e\u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c7\"\u003e\u003cp\u003e1.08\u003c/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e(0.655)\u003c/p\u003e\u003c/td\u003e\u003c/tr\u003e\u003ctr\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\" morerows=\"5\" rowspan=\"6\"\u003e\u003cp\u003eAccessibility of mental health support\u003c/p\u003e\u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e\u003cp\u003eVery low\u003c/p\u003e\u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e\u003cp\u003e(1)\u003c/p\u003e\u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c4\"\u003e\u003cp\u003e94\u003c/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e(21.9)\u003c/p\u003e\u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c5\"\u003e\u003cp\u003e11.09\u003c/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e(5.69)\u003c/p\u003e\u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c6\" morerows=\"5\" rowspan=\"6\"\u003e\u003cp\u003e-0.52\u003c/p\u003e\u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c7\"\u003e\u003cp\u003eBASE\u003c/p\u003e\u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c8\"\u003e\u003cp\u003eGAD(0)\u0026thinsp;=\u0026thinsp;GAD(1)\u003c/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eZ\u0026thinsp;=\u0026thinsp;0.41\u003c/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e(0.68)\u003c/p\u003e\u003c/td\u003e\u003c/tr\u003e\u003ctr\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e\u003cp\u003eLow\u003c/p\u003e\u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e\u003cp\u003e(2)\u003c/p\u003e\u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c4\"\u003e\u003cp\u003e74\u003c/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e(17.2)\u003c/p\u003e\u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c5\"\u003e\u003cp\u003e10.70\u003c/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e(5.44)\u003c/p\u003e\u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c7\"\u003e\u003cp\u003e-0.049\u003c/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e(0.951)\u003c/p\u003e\u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c8\"\u003e\u003cp\u003eGAD(1)\u0026thinsp;=\u0026thinsp;GAD(2)\u003c/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eZ=-1.3\u003c/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e(0.19)\u003c/p\u003e\u003c/td\u003e\u003c/tr\u003e\u003ctr\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e\u003cp\u003eAdequate\u003c/p\u003e\u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e\u003cp\u003e(3)\u003c/p\u003e\u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c4\"\u003e\u003cp\u003e49\u003c/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e(11.4)\u003c/p\u003e\u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c5\"\u003e\u003cp\u003e11.94\u003c/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e(5.59)\u003c/p\u003e\u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c7\"\u003e\u003cp\u003e1.60\u003csup\u003e*\u003c/sup\u003e\u003c/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e(0.099)\u003c/p\u003e\u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c8\"\u003e\u003cp\u003eGAD(2)\u0026thinsp;\u0026gt;\u0026thinsp;GAD(3)\u003c/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eZ\u0026thinsp;=\u0026thinsp;3.16***\u003c/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e(0.00)\u003c/p\u003e\u003c/td\u003e\u003c/tr\u003e\u003ctr\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e\u003cp\u003eModerate\u003c/p\u003e\u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e\u003cp\u003e(4)\u003c/p\u003e\u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c4\"\u003e\u003cp\u003e84\u003c/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e(19.6)\u003c/p\u003e\u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c5\"\u003e\u003cp\u003e8.79\u003c/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e(4.63)\u003c/p\u003e\u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c7\"\u003e\u003cp\u003e-0.84\u003c/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e(0.359)\u003c/p\u003e\u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c8\"\u003e\u003cp\u003eGAD(3)\u0026thinsp;=\u0026thinsp;GAD(4)\u003c/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eZ\u0026thinsp;=\u0026thinsp;0.23\u003c/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e(0.81)\u003c/p\u003e\u003c/td\u003e\u003c/tr\u003e\u003ctr\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e\u003cp\u003eHigh\u003c/p\u003e\u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e\u003cp\u003e(5)\u003c/p\u003e\u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c4\"\u003e\u003cp\u003e65\u003c/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e(15.2)\u003c/p\u003e\u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c5\"\u003e\u003cp\u003e8.66\u003c/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e(5.29)\u003c/p\u003e\u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c7\"\u003e\u003cp\u003e-0.82\u003c/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e(0.445)\u003c/p\u003e\u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c8\" morerows=\"1\" rowspan=\"2\"\u003e\u003cp\u003eGAD(4)\u0026thinsp;\u0026gt;\u0026thinsp;GAD(5)\u003c/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eZ\u0026thinsp;=\u0026thinsp;2.98***\u003c/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e(0.003)\u003c/p\u003e\u003c/td\u003e\u003c/tr\u003e\u003ctr\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e\u003cp\u003eVery High\u003c/p\u003e\u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c4\"\u003e\u003cp\u003e63\u003c/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e(14.7)\u003c/p\u003e\u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c5\"\u003e\u003cp\u003e5.95\u003c/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e4.60)\u003c/p\u003e\u003c/td\u003e\u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c7\"\u003e\u003cp\u003e-3.10\u003csup\u003e**\u003c/sup\u003e\u003c/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e(0.013)\u003c/p\u003e\u003c/td\u003e\u003c/tr\u003e\u003c/tbody\u003e\u003c/colgroup\u003e\u003c/table\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003c/p\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv id=\"Sec12\" class=\"Section2\"\u003e\u003ch2\u003eNotes:\u003c/h2\u003e\u003cp\u003eGeneral OLS, Additional file 1\u003c/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003csup\u003e2\u003c/sup\u003e OLS with multifactor explanatory variable, Additional file 1\u003c/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003csup\u003e3\u003c/sup\u003e Non-parametric Two-sample Wilcoxon rank-sum (Mann-Whitney) test results, comparing GAD between two requested groups.\u003c/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003cem\u003ep\u003c/em\u003e-values in parentheses\u003csup\u003e*\u003c/sup\u003e \u003cem\u003ep\u003c/em\u003e\u0026thinsp;\u0026lt;\u0026thinsp;0.1, \u003csup\u003e**\u003c/sup\u003e \u003cem\u003ep\u003c/em\u003e\u0026thinsp;\u0026lt;\u0026thinsp;0.05, \u003csup\u003e***\u003c/sup\u003e \u003cem\u003ep\u003c/em\u003e\u0026thinsp;\u0026lt;\u0026thinsp;0.01\u003c/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eThe data presented in Table\u0026nbsp;\u003cspan refid=\"Tab5\" class=\"InternalRef\"\u003e5\u003c/span\u003e indicate that most respondents recognize institutional mental health support as important (36.8%) or very important (53.4%). Only 0.5% of respondents consider support to be unimportant or not important, highlighting the widespread acknowledgment of the necessity for such measures. The parameter \u0026ldquo;importance of institutional support\u0026rdquo; showed a coefficient of 0.49 (p\u0026thinsp;=\u0026thinsp;0.16), which is not statistically significant. This suggests that the awareness of the importance of support does not have a substantial impact on anxiety levels among academic staff. In other words, programs and initiatives may be effective even for respondents with certain reservations. These results suggest a potential new hypothesis regarding the destigmatization of mental health issues.\u003c/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eHowever, the majority of respondents rate the level of institutional culture regarding mental health support as low (37.1%) or medium (38.7%). Only 24.2% of academic staff rate the culture level as high, indicating significant room for improvement. The results showed that with an increase of 1 unit in the rating of institutional culture, anxiety levels decreased by 1.05 units. This result is statistically significant (p\u0026thinsp;=\u0026thinsp;0.03). This indicates that a higher level of institutional support is associated with lower anxiety levels. However, the rank-sum analysis revealed that the relationship is not always linear. For example, the medium level of institutional support had a different effect compared to low or high levels, indicating a more complex interaction between the level of support and anxiety.\u003c/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eRegarding the availability of programs or initiatives for mental health support, a significant portion of respondents (23.6%) believe such programs need to be implemented, while 24.2% consider existing programs ineffective. Only 21.9% of academic staff rate existing programs as effective, while 1.2% believe such programs are unnecessary. At the same time, the regression analysis results showed that the availability of programs and initiatives for support has a partially statistically significant impact on anxiety levels (coefficient 0.48, p\u0026thinsp;=\u0026thinsp;0.08). Specifically, for respondents who consider programs to be ineffective, anxiety levels are significantly higher (coefficient 4.43, p\u0026thinsp;=\u0026thinsp;0.06), indicating that ineffective programs may even worsen anxiety levels. This underscores the importance of having programs in place and ensuring their effectiveness.\u003c/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eRegarding the accessibility of psychological support for academic staff, most respondents rated it very low (21.9%) or low (17.2%). Only 14.7% of academic staff rated support accessibility as very high. This parameter proved significant with an inverse impact on anxiety levels (coefficient \u0026minus;\u0026thinsp;0.52, p\u0026thinsp;=\u0026thinsp;0.03). This means that an increase in the accessibility of psychological support by 1 unit decreases anxiety levels by 0.52 units. Additional analysis showed that a higher level of support accessibility significantly reduces anxiety (for example, moving to a high level of accessibility reduces anxiety by 3.10 units, p\u0026thinsp;=\u0026thinsp;0.01). This indicates that support accessibility is a critically important factor in reducing anxiety.\u003c/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eThese results highlight the importance of institutional support in reducing anxiety levels and the desire to change professional fields among academic staff during the full-scale war. Particularly crucial is the accessibility of support and the institutional culture of mental health support, which can significantly reduce anxiety. The availability and awareness of the importance of support programs also play a role, but their impact is more complex and requires further investigation.\u003c/p\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003cdiv id=\"Sec13\" class=\"Section2\"\u003e\u003ch2\u003eInstitutional initiatives for supporting faculty mental health\u003c/h2\u003e\u003cp\u003eThe results of the survey on institutional mental health support identified several key types of assistance academic staff consider most necessary (Fig.\u0026nbsp;\u003cspan refid=\"Fig3\" class=\"InternalRef\"\u003e3\u003c/span\u003e).\u003c/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003c/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eThe organization of accessible consultations with professional psychologists for academic staff (62.2%) is the most common initiative, highlighting the critical need for individual psychological support. Regular stress resilience and mental well-being training sessions (44.3%) generate significant interest, indicating the need to develop stress management skills and improve emotional well-being. Many respondents (35.2%) consider support groups important, indicating the need for collective support and experience sharing. Systematic dissemination of self-help practices (31.2%) is also of interest among academic staff, who wish to regularly receive information on self-help methods to better cope with psychological issues. A quarter of respondents support the organization of courses on mental health topics (25.4%), underscoring the importance of educational activities in this area. The development of dedicated mobile apps for faculty mental health support (16.8%) has less, but still significant, support, indicating a willingness to use modern technology to improve mental health.\u003c/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eAdditionally, academic staff indicated the need for:\u003c/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003cul\u003e\u003cli\u003e\u003cp\u003eMaintaining a work-life balance: \"More free time,\" \"Reducing workload,\" \"Reducing the burden of organizational work.\"\u003c/p\u003e\u003c/li\u003e\u003cli\u003e\u003cp\u003eThe need for a flexible management style and reduction of bureaucratic burden: \"The appropriateness of behavior and management style in response to the situation outside, because sometimes the war has taught nothing,\" \"Reduce pointless work and non-core responsibilities,\" \"Just attention and respect for my achievements. I have published 5 Scopus articles this academic year, done many important works, and won an international competition. For this, there was no thanks or bonus from the university. Even the announcement on the university website about my achievements was mixed with those of other faculty,\" \"Humane treatment of academic staff.\"\u003c/p\u003e\u003c/li\u003e\u003cli\u003e\u003cp\u003eProviding proper conditions for remote work: \"Providing a workspace for conducting online classes.\"\u003c/p\u003e\u003c/li\u003e\u003cli\u003e\u003cp\u003eChanges in socio-political conditions: \"In a country at war, a person's mental health will never improve,\" \"I manage my problems myself. I just need time to pull myself together and move on.\"\u003c/p\u003e\u003c/li\u003e\u003cli\u003e\u003cp\u003eIncreased salaries and financial support in the form of bonuses: \"Financial support in the form of bonuses, at least for major holidays!\" \"When salaries are not paid for 6 months, no mental health support measures will help,\" \"Seminars and training are good, but the most important thing is to have a job and a salary, especially now. Because rent and utilities must be paid, getting sick is costly.\"\u003c/p\u003e\u003c/li\u003e\u003c/ul\u003e\u003c/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eOverall, the results can provide insights into potential mental health support initiatives at the institutional level.\u003c/p\u003e\u003c/div\u003e"},{"header":"Discussion","content":"\u003cp\u003eThis study was conducted in the unique context of the ongoing war in Ukraine, focusing on the impact of the war on the mental health of Ukrainian academic staff. The primary focus was on the prevalence and severity of generalized anxiety disorders, the inclination to change professional fields, and the perception of institutional mental health support. In this discussion, we will thoroughly examine the obtained results, explore possible reasons for the observed trends, compare our findings with previous studies, and discuss its practical implications.\u003c/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eFirstly, the study revealed a high prevalence of moderate anxiety among academic staff, with a significant proportion of cases classified as severe. These findings align with existing literature suggesting that anxiety among academic staff is prevalent even in peacetime [\u003cspan citationid=\"CR48\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e48\u003c/span\u003e, \u003cspan citationid=\"CR49\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e49\u003c/span\u003e, \u003cspan citationid=\"CR50\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e50\u003c/span\u003e]. However, it appears to escalate considerably during military conflict or crisis periods. This is consistent with research indicating that stressors unique to war - such as prolonged uncertainty, disrupted educational systems, and exposure to traumatic conditions - exacerbate mental health conditions [\u003cspan citationid=\"CR51\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e51\u003c/span\u003e].\u003c/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eOne of the primary drivers of heightened anxiety in conflict-affected regions is the ongoing war damage and the uncertainty it creates regarding the future [\u003cspan citationid=\"CR52\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e52\u003c/span\u003e]. In addition to these overarching challenges, Ukrainian academic staff face a range of specific stressors, including concerns over their safety and that of their students [\u003cspan citationid=\"CR38\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e38\u003c/span\u003e] and fears about the long-term viability of education within their communities [\u003cspan citationid=\"CR53\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e53\u003c/span\u003e, \u003cspan citationid=\"CR54\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e54\u003c/span\u003e]. For many, the situation is further complicated by the need to continue working under challenging conditions, such as air raids, blackouts, and forced migration to safer locations to avoid bombings [\u003cspan citationid=\"CR35\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e35\u003c/span\u003e, \u003cspan citationid=\"CR55\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e55\u003c/span\u003e]. Moreover, the emotional toll of teaching students directly impacted by trauma, combined with a strong sense of duty toward these students' well-being, substantially increases anxiety levels among academic staff compared to their colleagues in more stable environments [\u003cspan citationid=\"CR56\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e56\u003c/span\u003e, \u003cspan citationid=\"CR57\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e57\u003c/span\u003e, \u003cspan citationid=\"CR58\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e58\u003c/span\u003e].\u003c/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eWhen comparing these findings with studies conducted in other high-stress environments, the severity of GAD among Ukrainian academic staff becomes particularly evident. For example, while anxiety levels among academic staff increased during the COVID-19 pandemic in the UK, they did not reach the extreme levels observed in Ukraine, where the additional burden of war plays a significant role [\u003cspan citationid=\"CR59\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e59\u003c/span\u003e]. Similarly, in the US, around 20% of academic staff reported moderate anxiety, with severe cases being rare; the primary stressors were related to work overload and financial instability [\u003cspan citationid=\"CR60\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e60\u003c/span\u003e]. In contrast, the unique challenges posed by the full-scale war in Ukraine likely contribute to the significantly higher prevalence of GAD observed in this study.\u003c/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eOverall, while anxiety among academic staff is a common phenomenon in academic environments, the level and impact of this condition vary significantly depending on the specific context. Our study highlights that Ukrainian academic staff working during the war experience greater psychological pressure than their counterparts in other countries. This is due to the general stressors in academia and the extreme conditions caused by military actions. These unique challenges necessitate additional support measures and interventions to maintain their mental health and professional well-being.\u003c/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eSecondly, the results of this study indicate a substantial correlation between elevated anxiety levels and an increased desire among academic staff to change professional fields. They experiencing high levels of anxiety were more likely to consider leaving the profession, highlighting the profound impact of the war on their career decisions. This finding aligns with other research showing that elevated stress and mental health challenges often drive educators to seek alternative employment or exit the profession, especially when educational infrastructure is compromised and they feel unable to effectively fulfill their roles while coping with overwhelming demands [\u003cspan citationid=\"CR56\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e56\u003c/span\u003e, \u003cspan citationid=\"CR57\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e57\u003c/span\u003e, \u003cspan citationid=\"CR61\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e61\u003c/span\u003e]. Studies suggest that when academic staff experience GAD, their capacity to engage meaningfully with students diminishes, potentially leading to a decline in educational quality and a shift in professional aspirations [\u003cspan citationid=\"CR58\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e58\u003c/span\u003e, \u003cspan citationid=\"CR62\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e62\u003c/span\u003e]. This phenomenon is particularly pronounced in regions where educational systems have been damaged by conflict, exacerbating stress levels and pushing academic staff to seek less stressful environments or new career paths [\u003cspan citationid=\"CR56\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e56\u003c/span\u003e, \u003cspan citationid=\"CR57\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e57\u003c/span\u003e]. Similar trends are observed in peaceful regions, where academic staff with high anxiety levels also consider changing professions due to workload pressures and insufficient institutional support [\u003cspan citationid=\"CR63\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e63\u003c/span\u003e]. However, in the Ukrainian context, the immediate threat to life adds a layer of complexity.\u003c/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eThird, the findings of this study highlight the critical role of institutional mental health support, particularly in the context of the ongoing war in Ukraine. In a country at war, addressing mental health is an obvious and urgent priority due to its immediate and long-term consequences. Therefore, institutional mental health support for academic staff requires practical, actionable strategies. While factors like physical safety and financial stability \u0026ndash; key elements of a stable academic environment \u0026ndash; are often beyond the control of institutions during conflict, they can take proactive steps to preserve human capital. This can be achieved by fostering a supportive, psychologically safe environment that addresses the unique needs of academic staff. Institutional measures that promote mental health create an inclusive and supportive atmosphere and build resilience can help mitigate the detrimental effects of an unstable external environment.\u003c/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eThe study's results demonstrate the importance of institutional support in reducing anxiety levels among academic staff. However, the results indicate that the awareness of this importance does not always correlate with reduced anxiety. This may be due to more complex mechanisms of interaction between institutional culture and mental health, including individual differences in the perception of support, levels of professional burnout, and the overall context in which the support is provided [\u003cspan citationid=\"CR64\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e64\u003c/span\u003e]. For example, a study conducted among healthcare workers during the COVID-19 pandemic found that even with formal institutional support, anxiety reduction did not always occur, particularly among those working in high-risk environments [\u003cspan citationid=\"CR65\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e65\u003c/span\u003e].\u003c/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eThis underscores the importance of not only the availability of support but also its effectiveness and adaptation to the needs of academic staff. Awareness that support is available may create a positive effect in combating the stigma of mental health, even if it does not lead to an immediate reduction in anxiety [\u003cspan citationid=\"CR66\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e66\u003c/span\u003e]. Reducing stigma may gradually encourage more active use of support and, ultimately, lower anxiety levels among academic staff.\u003c/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eThe results also show that for mental health support programs to reduce anxiety effectively, they must be not only available but also genuinely effective. Respondents who rate existing programs as ineffective exhibit significantly higher levels of anxiety, indicating that ineffective programs may not only fail to help but could potentially worsen anxiety. On the other hand, a high level of accessibility to psychological support significantly reduces anxiety. Still, it is essential to note that most respondents rate the accessibility of this support as low or very low. This is a critical challenge since support accessibility reduces anxiety during crises [\u003cspan citationid=\"CR25\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e25\u003c/span\u003e].\u003c/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eAdditionally, it is important to note that most respondents rated the level of institutional culture regarding mental health support as low or moderate. This highlights a significant potential for improvement, as a positive institutional culture can substantially reduce anxiety levels among academic staff [\u003cspan citationid=\"CR67\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e67\u003c/span\u003e]. Our findings are consistent with other studies [\u003cspan citationid=\"CR68\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e68\u003c/span\u003e], which emphasize that a comprehensive approach to mental health support \u0026ndash; including increasing the accessibility of psychological services and developing effective support programs \u0026ndash; is crucial to improving mental health within the academic environment during wartime.\u003c/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eThis study identifies several forms of support that academic staff find most effective. The most commonly cited initiative is accessible consultations with professional psychologists, underscoring the urgent need for mental health support in coping with the challenges of war. Research confirms that individual consultations reduce anxiety and improve mental health during crises [\u003cspan citationid=\"CR68\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e68\u003c/span\u003e]. Additionally, stress resilience and mental well-being training, such as cognitive-behavioural therapy (CBT), generate strong interest as they help educators build stress management skills and reduce anxiety [\u003cspan citationid=\"CR45\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e45\u003c/span\u003e]. Peer-to-peer support groups are also valued for creating a shared space for collective support, significantly reducing anxiety [\u003cspan citationid=\"CR1\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e1\u003c/span\u003e, \u003cspan citationid=\"CR69\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e69\u003c/span\u003e]. Self-help practices and disseminating related information are of interest to those seeking regular guidance on managing psychological challenges. Though less popular, other initiatives, such as mental health courses and mobile apps, are still vital in a comprehensive approach to mental health during crises. These findings highlight the need for institutions to develop diverse and adaptable mental health support initiatives to reduce anxiety and maintain the well-being of academic staff during wartime.\u003c/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eThe implications of these results are significant, as they not only reflect the immediate mental health challenges but also signal potential long-term consequences for the academic workforce, including an increased desire to leave the profession. This stresses the importance of proactive institutional strategies to support academic staff's mental well-being, especially in times of crisis.\u003c/p\u003e"},{"header":"Conclusion","content":"\u003cp\u003eThis study underscores the critical importance of mental health among academic staff, especially in wartime. Findings reveal a high prevalence of anxiety disorders among Ukrainian academic staff, driven by both professional responsibilities and the extreme conditions of the full-scale war. This highlights the urgent need for targeted interventions to support their mental health and well-being. Theoretically, this research expands the understanding of how military conflicts uniquely affect the mental health of academic staff, filling a gap in the existing literature that has primarily focused on other professions or crises like the COVID-19 pandemic.\u003c/p\u003e\u003cp\u003ePractically, the study suggests the necessity of implementing comprehensive mental health support programs in universities, including psychological consultations, stress resilience training, support groups, and self-help resources. Moreover, the link between high anxiety and the desire to change professions underscores the risk of losing skilled personnel in education and research, emphasizing the need to create conditions that promote job satisfaction and professional growth, even during crises. Lastly, fostering an institutional culture that openly addresses mental health and well-being is essential to reducing anxiety and enhancing the work climate. This study highlights the need for adaptive support programs to preserve academic human capital during wartime.\u003c/p\u003e"},{"header":"Declarations","content":"\u003cp\u003e \u003cstrong\u003eEthics approval and consent to participate\u003c/strong\u003e \u003cp\u003e This study followed strict ethical standards for research involving human participants in accordance with the Declaration of Helsinki and the Belmont Report. All participants provided informed consent and were made aware of their right to withdraw from the study at any time without repercussions. Confidentiality and anonymity of the data were upheld throughout the study. Ethical approval was granted by the Ethics Committee of Berdyansk State Pedagogical University (Protocol No. 12/2023), confirming adherence to high ethical standards.\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e \u003cstrong\u003eConsent for publication\u003c/strong\u003e \u003cp\u003eNot applicable.\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e \u003ch2\u003eCompeting interests\u003c/h2\u003e \u003cp\u003eThe authors declare that there are no conflicts of interest related to the conduct of this study.\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/p\u003e\u003ch2\u003eFunding\u003c/h2\u003e\u003cp\u003eNo funding was received for conducting this study.\u003c/p\u003e\u003ch2\u003eAuthor Contribution\u003c/h2\u003e\u003cp\u003eThe conceptualization was carried out by Natalia Tsybuliak and Yana Suchikova. The methodology was developed by Natalia Tsybuliak and Yana Suchikova. Uliana Kolomiiets curated the data. The original draft was written by Natalia Tsybuliak, Hanna Lopatina, and Anastasia Popova. Yana Suchikova performed writing, reviewing, and editing. All authors read and approved the final manuscript.\u003c/p\u003e\u003ch2\u003eAcknowledgement\u003c/h2\u003e\u003cp\u003eThe research teams acknowledge the Armed Forces of Ukraine for providing safety during their research and credit their perseverance and courage for making this possible.\u003c/p\u003e\u003ch2\u003eData Availability\u003c/h2\u003e\u003cp\u003eThe datasets used and/or analysed during the current study are available from the corresponding author on reasonable request.\u003c/p\u003e"},{"header":"References","content":"\u003col\u003e\u003cli\u003e\u003cspan\u003eUrbina-Garcia A. What do we know about university academics' mental health? A systematic literature review. 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Behav Res Ther. 2010;48(9):840\u0026ndash;50. \u003cspan class=\"ExternalRef\"\u003e\u003cspan class=\"RefSource\"\u003e10.1016/j.brat.2010.03.019\u003c/span\u003e\u003cspan address=\"10.1016/j.brat.2010.03.019\" targettype=\"DOI\" class=\"RefTarget\"\u003e\u003c/span\u003e\u003c/span\u003e.\u003c/span\u003e\u003c/li\u003e\u003c/ol\u003e"}],"fulltextSource":"","fullText":"","funders":[],"hasAdminPriorityOnWorkflow":false,"hasManuscriptDocX":true,"hasOptedInToPreprint":true,"hasPassedJournalQc":"","hasAnyPriority":false,"hideJournal":false,"highlight":"","institution":"","isAcceptedByJournal":true,"isAuthorSuppliedPdf":false,"isDeskRejected":"","isHiddenFromSearch":false,"isInQc":false,"isInWorkflow":false,"isPdf":false,"isPdfUpToDate":true,"isWithdrawnOrRetracted":false,"journal":{"display":true,"email":"[email protected]","identity":"bmc-public-health","isNatureJournal":false,"hasQc":true,"allowDirectSubmit":false,"externalIdentity":"pubh","sideBox":"Learn more about [BMC Public Health](http://bmcpublichealth.biomedcentral.com/)","snPcode":"","submissionUrl":"https://www.editorialmanager.com/pubh/default.aspx","title":"BMC Public Health","twitterHandle":"@BMC_series","acdcEnabled":true,"dfaEnabled":false,"editorialSystem":"em","reportingPortfolio":"BMC Series","inReviewEnabled":true,"inReviewRevisionsEnabled":true},"keywords":"Mental health, Anxiety disorders, Academic staff, War trauma, Institutional support, professional choice, Ukraine, war.","lastPublishedDoi":"10.21203/rs.3.rs-5125365/v1","lastPublishedDoiUrl":"https://doi.org/10.21203/rs.3.rs-5125365/v1","license":{"name":"CC BY 4.0","url":"https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/"},"manuscriptAbstract":"\u003ch2\u003eBackground\u003c/h2\u003e \u003cp\u003eMental health conditions among academic staff are a growing global concern, driven by factors such as heavy workloads, job insecurity, and a lack of institutional support. Anxiety, one of the most common mental health disorders, is particularly widespread in academia, affecting cognitive function and productivity. In Ukraine, the ongoing war has intensified these challenges, creating unprecedented working conditions for academic staff. This study investigates the prevalence of anxiety among Ukrainian academics during wartime. It explores the impact on their desire to change careers and the perceived effectiveness of institutional mental health support.\u003c/p\u003e\u003ch2\u003eMethods\u003c/h2\u003e \u003cp\u003eThis cross-sectional study surveyed 429 academic staff from Ukrainian higher education institutions between December 2023 and February 2024. Anxiety levels were measured using the Generalized Anxiety Disorder (GAD-7) scale, while additional questions assessed the desire to change professions and the perceived effectiveness of institutional mental health support. The data were analyzed using chi-squared tests, correlation analysis, and Ordinary Least Squares (OLS) regression.\u003c/p\u003e\u003ch2\u003eResults\u003c/h2\u003e \u003cp\u003eThe findings revealed that 37.1% of respondents experienced moderate anxiety, while 20.3% reported severe anxiety. There was a significant relationship between higher anxiety levels and an increased likelihood of considering a career change. While 90.2% of respondents viewed institutional mental health support as important, many felt that the existing programs were ineffective. Greater accessibility to psychological support services was associated with lower anxiety levels.\u003c/p\u003e\u003ch2\u003eConclusions\u003c/h2\u003e \u003cp\u003eThe high prevalence of anxiety among Ukrainian academic staff during the war highlights the urgent need for targeted mental health interventions. Institutional support \u0026ndash; such as accessible psychological services- is important in the ongoing war conditions. These findings underscore the broader implications of anxiety for the sustainability of Ukraine's educational and scientific sector during wartime and emphasize the need for comprehensive mental health programs tailored to the unique challenges faced by academics in wartime.\u003c/p\u003e","manuscriptTitle":"Calm me down, or I'll leave: anxiety and institutional support among Ukrainian academic staff during wartime","msid":"","msnumber":"","nonDraftVersions":[{"code":1,"date":"2024-11-26 17:54:36","doi":"10.21203/rs.3.rs-5125365/v1","editorialEvents":[{"type":"communityComments","content":0},{"type":"decision","content":"Revision requested","date":"2024-11-18T05:04:05+00:00","index":"","fulltext":""},{"type":"editorInvitedReview","content":"","date":"2024-11-16T11:19:36+00:00","index":"hide","fulltext":""},{"type":"reviewerAgreed","content":"313810212493936333669105409113478944122","date":"2024-11-09T18:52:23+00:00","index":"hide","fulltext":""},{"type":"editorInvitedReview","content":"","date":"2024-10-06T16:26:13+00:00","index":"hide","fulltext":""},{"type":"reviewerAgreed","content":"143095079445606268877916037751709126728","date":"2024-09-28T14:29:11+00:00","index":"hide","fulltext":""},{"type":"reviewersInvited","content":"","date":"2024-09-25T09:01:25+00:00","index":"","fulltext":""},{"type":"editorAssigned","content":"","date":"2024-09-25T06:35:51+00:00","index":"","fulltext":""},{"type":"checksComplete","content":"","date":"2024-09-23T13:19:52+00:00","index":"","fulltext":""},{"type":"submitted","content":"BMC Public Health","date":"2024-09-20T18:22:47+00:00","index":"","fulltext":""}],"status":"published","journal":{"display":true,"email":"[email protected]","identity":"bmc-public-health","isNatureJournal":false,"hasQc":true,"allowDirectSubmit":false,"externalIdentity":"pubh","sideBox":"Learn more about [BMC Public Health](http://bmcpublichealth.biomedcentral.com/)","snPcode":"","submissionUrl":"https://www.editorialmanager.com/pubh/default.aspx","title":"BMC Public Health","twitterHandle":"@BMC_series","acdcEnabled":true,"dfaEnabled":false,"editorialSystem":"em","reportingPortfolio":"BMC Series","inReviewEnabled":true,"inReviewRevisionsEnabled":true}}],"origin":"","ownerIdentity":"d4c96501-0e7c-47ee-a9c3-fee4db1bfc84","owner":[],"postedDate":"November 26th, 2024","published":true,"recentEditorialEvents":[],"rejectedJournal":[],"revision":"","amendment":"","status":"published-in-journal","subjectAreas":[],"tags":[],"updatedAt":"2024-12-23T16:09:50+00:00","versionOfRecord":{"articleIdentity":"rs-5125365","link":"https://doi.org/10.1186/s12889-024-21040-4","journal":{"identity":"bmc-public-health","isVorOnly":false,"title":"BMC Public Health"},"publishedOn":"2024-12-18 15:56:58","publishedOnDateReadable":"December 18th, 2024"},"versionCreatedAt":"2024-11-26 17:54:36","video":"","vorDoi":"10.1186/s12889-024-21040-4","vorDoiUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1186/s12889-024-21040-4","workflowStages":[]},"version":"v1","identity":"rs-5125365","journalConfig":"researchsquare"},"__N_SSP":true},"page":"/article/[identity]/[[...version]]","query":{"redirect":"/article/rs-5125365","identity":"rs-5125365","version":["v1"]},"buildId":"qtupq5eGEP_6zYnWcrvyt","isFallback":false,"isExperimentalCompile":false,"dynamicIds":[84888],"gssp":true,"scriptLoader":[]}