Exploring the Impacts of the Beginning of the COVID-19 Pandemic on Critical Care Physicians and the Delivery of Patient Care in Seven Countries: A Qualitative Interview-Based Study (original) (raw)
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Purpose: To understand critical care physician experiences across multiple countries with the COVID-19 pandemic to inform future pandemic preparedness planning. Methods: In this qualitative descriptive study, 16 critical care physicians (from eight countries) identified in HPJ • Fall 2022 • 2(2) | Page 20 convenience and purposive sampling took part in individual semi-structured interviews from April 7, 2020 to August 27, 2020 that captured the first wave of the pandemic. Open coding was conducted by two researchers who facilitated inductive thematic analysis. Results: Key themes identified following thematic analysis included the following: (a) sourcing and implementation of trusted information; (b) health systems-level preparedness with accessible supports; (c) institutional adaptations, including changes to patient care; (d) professional safety and occupational well-being; (e) triage and restricted visitation policies; and (f) managing personal familial responsibilities. Conclusion: The COVID-19 pandemic transformed the ways in which critical care physicians cared for their patients and personally coped with challenges. Perspectives of critical care physicians are important for ongoing pandemic planning and should be included in future pandemic policy development.
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.
Being a health care professional in the ICU serving patients with covid-19: A qualitative study
Heart & Lung, 2023
Background: The COVID-19 pandemic has placed a great deal of strain on healthcare providers across the world. There has been no research into the experiences of health care providers in Turkey caring for hospitalized patients with COVID-19 in the ICU. Objectives: To explain the experiences of health care providers who provide services to patients with Covid-19 in an intensive care unit. Methods: This study used a phenomenological approach to recruit 15 participants (10 nurses and 5 physicians). The data was gathered through semi-structured in-depth interviews conducted face-to-face. Results: The four primary themes that came up in the results were COVID-19: the unidentified enemy, frontline struggle, psychological struggle, and invasion of social life. Conclusion: During the epidemic, health care providers encountered several psychological, physical, social, and professional difficulties. All health care personnel must receive information and skills training on what to do in crisis and risk circumstances such as infectious disease, decision-making, anxiety management, and problem-solving during pandemics.
The Open Psychology Journal
Introduction: The COVID-19 pandemic situation is a huge global medical and public health issue that has affected people’s physical health and mental well-being. Under the current circumstances, medical professionals are at risk of stress, anxiety, and subsequent mental health problems. Methods: The present study aimed to explore the needs of medical professionals in terms of promoting their mental health while performing their duties during the COVID-19 pandemic. The purposive sampling method was used to select 43 medical professionals in the following five groups: physicians, dentists, pharmacists, nurses, and medical technicians, who were frontline health workers or had the risk of contracting infection from infected patients in Thai hospitals during the COVID-19 pandemic. The data were collected using a semi-structured online interview. The informants were asked to talk about the need for mental health promotion of medical professionals while performing their duties during the CO...
Critical Care Clinicians’ Experiences of Patient Safety During the COVID-19 Pandemic
Journal of Patient Safety
It is unknown how hospital-and systems-level factors have impacted patient safety in the intensive care unit (ICU) during the COVID-19 pandemic. We sought to understand how the pandemic has exacerbated preexisting patient safety issues and created novel patient safety challenges in ICUs in the United States. Methods: We performed a national, multi-institutional, mixed-methods survey of critical care clinicians to elicit experiences related to patient safety during the pandemic. The survey was disseminated via email through the Society of Critical Care Medicine listserv. Data were reported as valid percentages, compared by COVID caseload and peak of the pandemic; free-text responses were analyzed and coded for themes. Results: We received 335 survey responses. On general patient safety, 61% felt that conditions were more hazardous when compared with the prepandemic period. Those who took care of mostly COVID-19 patients were more likely to perceive that care was more hazardous (odds ratio, 4.89; 95% CI, 2.49-9.59) compared with those who took care of mostly non-COVID-19 or no COVID-19 patients. In free-text responses, providers identified patient safety risks related to pandemic adaptations, such as ventilator-related lung injury, medication and diagnostic errors, oversedation, oxygen device removal, and falls. Conclusions: Increased COVID-19 case burden was significantly associated with perceptions of a less safe patient care environment by frontline ICU clinicians. Results of the qualitative analysis identified specific patient safety hazards in ICUs across the United States as downstream consequences of hospital and provider strain during periods of the COVID-19 pandemic.
PLOS ONE
Background Intensive care unit (ICU) staff have faced unprecedented levels of stress, in the context of profound upheaval of their working environment due to the COVID-19 pandemic. We explored the perceptions of frontline ICU staff about the first wave of the COVID-19 pandemic, and how this experience impacted their personal and professional lives. Methods In a qualitative study as part of the PsyCOVID-ICU project, we conducted semi-structured interviews with a random sample of nurses and nurses’ aides from 5 centres participating in the main PsyCOVID study. Interviews were recorded and fully transcribed, and analysed by thematic analysis. Results A total of 18 interviews were performed from 13 August to 6 October 2020; 13 were nurses, and 5 were nurses’ aides. Thematic analysis revealed three major themes, namely: (1) Managing the home life; (2) Conditions in the workplace; and (3) the meaning of their profession. Conclusion In this qualitative study investigating the experiences a...
Journal of Qualitative Research in Health Sciences, 2023
, a new viral disease from the coronavirus family broke out in the city of Wuhan, the capital of Hubei Province in China, and soon turned into a global concern (1). On February 11, 2020, The World Health Organization (WHO) named this new coronavirus "COVID-19" (2) and declared a pandemic on March 11, 2020 (3). Coronaviruses are a large family of viruses and have been the cause of dangerous cases of pneumonia such as acute respiratory syndrome (SARS) and Middle East respiratory syndrome (MERS) in 2003 and 2012, respectively. COVID-19 is a type of coronavirus that has never been found in the human body before. Patients with COVID-19 usually show symptoms such as fever, cough, shortness of breath, and difficulty breathing. In more severe cases, this disease can lead to pneumonia, severe acute respiratory failure, kidney failure, and even death. There is still no specific treatment for COVID-19. COVID-19 patients are mainly treated symptomatically to prevent disease complications (4). The prevalence of COVID-19 infection increased rapidly in a short period, and by November 20, 2022, 634 million confirmed cases of COVID-19 and 6.6 million deaths were reported worldwide (5). In general, the outbreak of infectious diseases is considered one of the definite threats facing society, leading to a public health crisis. The sudden outbreak and rapid spread of infectious diseases necessitate paying attention to the capacity of the healthcare system to respond to epidemics. The preparation for managing the outbreak of infectious diseases involves healthcare providers' skills, abilities, and knowledge in providing healthcare and treatment services (6). Furthermore, the pressure on healthcare providers continues to increase. This pressure presents itself in two forms: The excessive burden caused by the disease on the limited capacity of the health system and the negative effects on the health of healthcare providers, including the risk of infection (7). Accordingly, in a special declaration, WHO highlighted the rights of healthcare service providers, including providing the necessary mechanisms for training and
Primary healthcare providers challenged during the COVID-19 pandemic: a qualitative study
BMC Primary Care
Background Primary healthcare (PHC) providers are widely acknowledged for putting the most efficient and long-lasting efforts for addressing community health issues and promoting health equity. This study aimed to explore PHC providers’ experiences with coronavirus pandemic preparedness and response in Armenia. Methods We applied a qualitative study design using semi-structured in-depth interviews and structured observation checklists. Study participants were recruited using theoretical and convenience sampling techniques throughout Armenia. Inductive conventional content analysis was utilized to analyze the in-depth interviews. Nineteen in-depth interviews were conducted with 21 participants. Observations took place in 35 PHC facilities. The data collected during the observations was analyzed using the “SPSS22.0.0.0” software. Results Five main themes of primary healthcare providers’ experiences were drawn out based on the study findings: 1) the gap in providers’ risk communication...
Frontline clinician concerns during the COVID-19 pandemic: A qualitative inquiry
2021
Objective: The COVID-19 pandemic has strained healthcare systems worldwide, placing a high psychological burden on frontline clinicians. There is an urgent need to better understand their stressors and determine if stressors differ by clinical role. The present study assessed the concerns among frontline clinicians across a large healthcare system during the COVID-19 pandemic to inform the development of tailored supportive services. Methods: From March – June 2020, frontline clinicians across the Mass General Brigham healthcare system were invited to register for an adapted mind-body resiliency group program. Clinicians completed preand post-program assessments asking them to report their COVID-19-related concerns. Qualitative data were analyzed in aggregate and by clinical role using content analysis to identify overarching domains. Results: Frontline clinicians’ concerns fall within seven domains: concerns for self, patients, family members, staff, existential concerns, systems-l...