A Preliminary Study of Job-Related Depression among Professional Health Education Specialists in Taiwan

Abstract

This study examined the extent of job-related depressive symptoms and demographic factors and professional status related to depressive symptoms among health education specialists in Taiwan. A translated and modified version of the Center for Epidemiological Studies Depression Scale (CES-D) was used to assess feelings and behaviors related to depressive symptoms. Mean scores for the group was 14.12, and 35.22 percent of subjects had high levels of depressive symptoms. Data analysis also indicated that younger subjects scored higher than older subjects and subjects who practiced less than fifteen years scored higher than subjects who were in the profession longer than fifteen years. There were no other significant differences of depressive symptoms when comparing gender, practice settings, and levels of religiosity.