Health workers’ conceptualisationand experiences of common mental symptoms and work-related psychosocial stressors in Central and Southern Ethiopian regions: a qualitative study

The findings of this study highlight the need for targeted interventions, including updated training on CMSs, addressing resource-related stressors, improving workplace communication and conflict resolution, enacting policy reforms to ensure equitable compensation and promoting adaptive coping strategies to enhance health workers' mental well-being and their PQoL. Furthermore, we advocate for a more robust exploration of the perceived causal link supported by lived experiences of health workers with chronic occupational stress, occupational depression and occupational anxiety to provide stronger evidence using longitudinal qualitative and quantitative studies.