192. Mental health service needs and countermeasures for employees during the construction period of large-scale infrastructure

Abstract Background Large-scale infrastructure projects are characterized by extended timelines, confined environments, and high-risk conditions, placing workers under prolonged physical and psychological stress. Previous research has predominantly focused on physical safety, with limited analysis of mental health service needs during the peak construction phase. Psychological crises serve as latent triggers for violations and safety incidents, yet current interventions often lack substantive evidence-based support. This study aims to identify primary psychological distress and core service demands among infrastructure workers during construction through field-based empirical investigation. It quantifies the relationship between "construction schedule pressure-mental health-service demand" to provide scientific basis for developing targeted engineering psychological support systems, thereby filling gaps in intervention strategies within this field. Methods Three national-level large-scale transportation infrastructure project sites under construction in a certain province were selected as research locations. Using stratified cluster sampling, a total of 650 frontline workers and on-site managers were recruited. The research implementation comprised three phases: Phase I collected demographic data using a self-developed General Information Questionnaire. Phase II assessed mental health using the Generalized Anxiety Disorder 7-item Scale (GAD-7) and Patient Health Questionnaire-9 (PHQ-9), defining positive symptoms as scores ≥5. Phase 3 distributed the Psychological Service Needs Questionnaire, covering four dimensions: psychological counseling, stress reduction, crisis intervention, and family support. All data were collected via encrypted mobile terminals at the construction site, with invalid questionnaires strictly excluded. Ultimately, 612 valid questionnaires were recovered, yielding a response rate of 94.2%. Results: Data indicate that mental health levels among construction personnel during the project period generally fall below national adult norms, with high-intensity workloads and lack of family support emerging as core risk factors (see Table 1). Analysis reveals significant differences in needs across job categories (p<.01). Frontline workers in high-altitude and tunnel operations demonstrated significantly higher demand for "emergency panic intervention" compared to management personnel. Meanwhile, the overall demand rate for traditional "one-on-one psychological counseling" was only 24.6%. These findings indicate that existing generic psychological services fail to effectively address the core pain points of "physical fatigue" and "emotional deprivation" prevalent at infrastructure construction sites. Discussion Research confirms that workers in large-scale infrastructure projects face heightened mental health risks during peak construction periods, with service needs exhibiting distinct industry specificity—namely, a stronger "practical orientation" than "counseling orientation." Therefore, a comprehensive support system integrating "physical-psychological-social" dimensions should be established. Regarding specific countermeasures, project departments are advised to prioritize the provision of sleep management and family communication hardware facilities to address the most urgent physical and emotional deprivation issues. Simultaneously, implement regular psychological first-aid training for high-risk occupations instead of generic mental health lectures. Future research should adopt longitudinal tracking designs to validate the practical efficacy of tiered psychological intervention models in reducing project deadline stress responses and lowering human-caused accident rates, thereby advancing the application of engineering psychology in infrastructure construction. Funding No. KJRC2019007.