Staff Experiences at a New York City Medical Center During the Spring Peak of the Covid-19 Pandemic: A Qualitative Study (original) (raw)
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Canadian Journal of Anesthesia/Journal canadien d'anesthésie
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How Do Hospital Staff Cope with Covid-19 at Work? A Phenomenological Study
Jurnal Kedokteran Brawijaya
The Covid-19 pandemic has brought negative consequences on hospital finances, the mental health of health care workers (HCWs), and even resulted in the deaths of several health workers at Hasta Brata Hospital (HBH). This study aimed to explore the experiences of HBH's staff in dealing with the pandemic in the hospital. This research is qualitative research with a phenomenological approach. Data were collected using in-depth interviews with two of HBH's staff and then followed by the theme analysis. Hospital staff experienced job demands including emotional and physical stress at work, fear of infection, repeated conflicts with patient visitors, different mindsets among staff, increased workload, and feelings of frustration towards people who do not comply with prevention protocols. Fortunately, they had adequate job resources, ranging from the provision of personal protective equipment, nutrition improvement, and regular Covid-19 screening; update knowledge and methods of ha...
Nursing & Health Sciences, 2021
The uncertain trajectory of COVID-19 has led to significant psychosocial impacts on nurses and other healthcare providers. Given the critical role of these providers in pandemic response, this study sought to gain a better understanding of the challenges faced by healthcare providers caring for adult patients during the COVID-19 pandemic. A descriptive, qualitative study was conducted via semi-structured interviews. A purposeful sample of healthcare providers (n = 23) caring for patients during the COVID-19 pandemic was recruited to participate in interviews via snowball sampling and an information systems-supported recruiting process (e-recruiting). Thematic analysis revealed four themes: (1) Managing isolation, fear, and increased anxiety; (2) adapting to changes in healthcare practice and policy; (3) addressing emotional and physical needs of patients and their families; and (4) navigating evolving workplace safety. New evidence was introduced about nurses practicing outside their usual role. Nurses and other healthcare providers consistently reported increased anxiety during the pandemic. Hospital administrations can proactively support healthcare providers during this and future pandemics by ensuring access to mental health programs, standardizing communication, and developing plans that address equipment and supply availability.
2023
Introduction: Across the globe, health care staffs on the frontlines of battle against COVID-19 faced a multifaceted challenges. The situation was more critical for resource constraint countries. Although, the concern was focused in providing protective devices and vaccination, it is more important to take account of mental health of the hospital staff. Therefore, this study was aimed to explore the experience of staff working in a tertiary level government hospital during the pandemic. Material and Methods: The study was conducted among 29 staffs of Bheri hospital, Nepalgunj. Data was collected from 23 to 25 July, 2022 through three focus group discussions using semi structured focus group discussion guideline. Qualitative content analysis method was used to analyze the data. Results: Content analysis of the data revealed the in-depth experiences of hospital staff i.e., from the initial stage of crisis and chaos to the final stage of acceptance and adaptation. Four main themes were generated: 1) crisis and fearful working environment; 2) impact on personal, family, social and professional life; 3) stage of acceptance and adjustment; 4) future recommendations. Conclusion: The whole story started with a journey from the stage of extreme fear, stress, feeling of threats, and anxiety to the final stage of acceptance and adaptation including feeling pride and satisfaction. Lack of knowledge about newly emerged disease and uncertainty of its prognosis was the reason behind intense fear among the hospital staffs. Therefore, the support to staffs including addressing the emotional wellbeing and mental health of healthcare staffs during any pandemic is very crucial.
PLOS ONE, 2022
Objectives We aimed to evaluate the personal, professional, and psychological impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on hospital workers and their perceptions about mitigating strategies. Design Cross-sectional web-based survey consisting of (1) a survey of the personal and professional impact of the COVID-19 pandemic and potential mitigation strategies, and (2) two validated psychological instruments (Kessler Psychological Distress Scale [K10] and Impact of Events Scale Revised [IES-R]). Regression analyses were conducted to identify the predictors of workplace stress, psychological distress, and post-traumatic stress. Setting and participants Hospital workers employed at 4 teaching and 8 non-teaching hospitals in Ontario, Canada during the COVID-19 pandemic. Results Among 1875 respondents (84% female, 49% frontline workers), 72% feared falling ill, 64% felt their job placed them at great risk of COVID-19 exposure, and 48% felt little control over the risk of infection. Respondents percei...
Occupational challenges of healthcare workers during the COVID-19 pandemic: a qualitative study
BMJ Open, 2022
ObjectivesTo address structural determinants and healthcare workers’ (HCWs) physical, mental, emotional and professional challenges of working during the COVID-19 pandemic.DesignExploratory qualitative study with semistructured interviews. Collected data were analysed using thematic analysis.SettingThis qualitative study was undertaken with HCWs who mainly worked in intensive care units in six non-profit hospitals in Vienna, Austria. Data were collected from June 2020 to January 2021.ParticipantsA total of 30 HCWs (13 medical doctors, 11 qualified nursing staff, 2 nurse assistants, 2 physiotherapists and 2 technical/cleaning staff) who were in direct and indirect contact with patients with COVID-19 were included.ResultsThree overall themes resulted as relevant: challenges due to lack of preparedness, structural conditions, and physical and mental health of HCWs. Lack of preparedness included delayed infection prevention and control (IPC) guidelines, shortages of personal protective ...
JCO Oncology Practice, 2021
PURPOSE: The COVID-19 pandemic surge in New York City in Spring 2020 resulted in an unprecedented constraint on health care resources. This study aimed to explore the experiences of doctors providing care to oncology patients during this time. METHODS: Hospitalists and medical oncologists from two large inpatient services at a dedicated cancer center participated in virtual in-depth interviews exploring how the pandemic affected their practice and to what extent it may have affected decisions for urgent evaluation or hospital admission, interventions, or goals-of-care discussions. Interviews also explored how the pandemic affected each individual physician's psychologic well-being. Transcripts were analyzed by three independent coders in Atlas.ti v. 7.5, using a thematic analysis approach. RESULTS: Eighteen physicians were interviewed (n = 6 GI medical oncologists, n = 6 gynecologic medical oncologists, and n = 6 hospitalists). Analysis identified five major themes related to fe...
2021
Objectives: We asked healthcare professionals (HCPs) to describe the psychosocial effects the COVID-19 pandemic has had on them. We also aimed to raise awareness about the possible problems may have been encountered by the HCPs during the pandemic. Methodology: This qualitative study was conducted through semi-structured interviews with open-ended questions. A phenomenological approach used to collect data. Purposive and snowball sampling methods were used to recruit participants. We interviewed twelve HCP s. Topics included their first experience with a COVID-19 case, changes in the work environment, working with personal protective equipment (PPE), changes in private life, and the challenges encountered. Data gathering and data analysis were carried out concurrently. We used the classical content analysis method for data analysis. Results: Four main categories emerged from the content analysis. The first was “Responsibility”. Healthcare professionals felt responsible towards both ...
Frontiers in Public Health, 2022
BackgroundHealth workers (HWs) have faced significant threats to physical and psychological health during the COVID-19 pandemic. The recent surges associated with the spread of the delta variant in the U.S., coupled with political resistance to effective public health mitigation strategies, indicate that the risks experienced early in the pandemic are not likely to abate soon. This study sought to better understand the experiences, thoughts, concerns, and recommendations of HWs during one of the first major surges in the U.S. and to explore how these experiences might inform efforts to mitigate potential ongoing COVID-related negative health and psychological impacts on HWs.MethodsHWs were recruited using a multi-faceted approach tailored to public health mitigation guidelines. Semi-structured interviews were conducted via video conference with front line HWs, support staff, and opioid use disorder service organization providers between April 1 and July 9, 2020 using the Social-Ecol...
Journal of Occupational and Environmental Medicine, 2022
Objective: This qualitative study included a sample of health care workers (HCWs) at a tertiary care center providing direct care to patients with COVID-19 to explore experiences and perceptions regarding care delivery during the COVID-19 pandemic as well as factors that helped HCWs cope with the challenges of the pandemic. Methods: Grounded theory methodology was used to conduct virtual focus groups with a semistructured interview guide May to June 2020. Results: We identified major themes related to (1) HCWs' emotions during the pandemic, (2) the perceived triggers of these feelings, (3) organizational factors that made HCWs feel more supported and appreciated, and (4) personal factors that helped HCWs cope with the pandemic. Conclusion: Results highlighted the stress and challenges associated with exposure to SARS-CoV-2. The findings can help inform interventions to support HCWs during pandemics and other crises.