Journal of Health Sciences & Surveillance System

Lived Experiences of Healthcare Workers Infected with COVID-19 in Teaching Hospitals

Document Type : Original Article

Authors

Mitra Amini 1
Ali Asghar Hayat 1
Mohamad Hasan Keshavarzi 1
Aliakbar Faghihi 1
Hamid Reza Koohestani 2

1 Clinical Education Research Center, School of Medicine, Shiraz University of Medical Sciences, Shiraz, Iran

2 Social Determinants of Health Research Center, Saveh University of Medical Sciences, Saveh, Iran

https://doi.org/10.30476/jhsss.2022.93841.1483
Abstract
Background: With the onset of the coronavirus crisis, the medical treatment staffs were at the forefront of dealing with the disease. The lived experiences in the face of this disease can help better manage the epidemic and identify organizational and individual barriers and challenges. This study aimed to investigate the experiences of medical staff working in COVID- 19 wards in Shiraz teaching hospitals.
Methods: The present study is a qualitative study conducted in 2021-2022. A semi-structured interview was used to collect data. Eighteen nurses, physicians, and health workers of Shiraz University of Medical Sciences were employed for the interview. The snowball sampling technique based on the target group was used. Data were analyzed by The Colaizzi seven-step analysis method.
Results: Three themes, including “tensions”, “material and spiritual support”, and “pleasant feeling” and eight sub-themes were extracted. The sub themes were “resilience”, “insufficient knowledge”, “depression”, “expressing gratitude by friends”, “public attention”, “organizational support”, “feeling proud”, and “altruism”.
Conclusion: The present study shows that COVID- 19 caused a lot of pressure on the medical staff during the pandemic, which led to psychological and emotional damage. On the other hand, material and spiritual support played an important role in reducing distress in times of crisis.

Keywords

COVID-19
Healthcare workers
Infected treatment staff
Phenomenology
  1. Zhu N, Zhang D, Wang W, Li X, Yang B, Song J, et al. A novel coronavirus from patients with pneumonia in China, 2019. New England journal of medicine. 2020. doi: 10.1056/NEJMoa2001017. Epub 2020 Jan 24. PMID: 31978945; PMCID: PMC7092803.
  2. Longhurst GJ, Stone DM, Dulohery K, Scully D, Campbell T, Smith CF. Strength, weakness, opportunity, threat (SWOT) analysis of the adaptations to anatomical education in the United Kingdom and Republic of Ireland in response to the Covid‐19 pandemic. Anatomical sciences education. 2020;13(3):301-11. doi: 10.1002/ase.1967. Epub 2020 May 9. PMID: 32306550; PMCID: PMC7264742.
  3. Organization WH. Coronavirus disease (COVID19) pandemic 2020 [Available from: https://www.who.int/emergencies/diseases/novel-coronavirus-2019.
  4. Geneva W. Keep Health Workers Safe to Keep Patients Safe. 2020. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.bbi.2020.05.026
  5. Franchi T. The impact of the Covid‐19 pandemic on current anatomy education and future careers: A student’s perspective. Anatomical Sciences Education. 2020;13(3):312. doi: 10.1002/ase.1966. PMID: 32301588; PMCID: PMC7262338.
  6. Wadoum REG, Clarke A. How prepared is Africa to face COVID-19? The Pan African Medical Journal. 2020;35(Suppl 2). doi:11604/pamj.supp.2020.35.2.23829.
  7. Ilesanmi O, Afolabi A. Perception and practices during the COVID-19 pandemic in an urban community in Nigeria: a cross-sectional study. PeerJ. 2020;8:e10038. doi: 10.7717/peerj.10038. PMCID: PMC7519720. PMID: 33024646.
  8. Chang D, Xu H, Rebaza A, Sharma L, Cruz CSD. Protecting health-care workers from subclinical coronavirus infection. The Lancet Respiratory Medicine. 2020;8(3):e13. doi: 10.1016/S2213-2600(20)30066-7. PMID: 32061333. PMCID: PMC7128440.
  9. Zhong B-L, Luo W, Li H-M, Zhang Q-Q, Liu X-G, Li W-T, et al. Knowledge, attitudes, and practices towards COVID-19 among Chinese residents during the rapid rise period of the COVID-19 outbreak: a quick online cross-sectional survey. International journal of biological sciences. 2020;16(10):1745. doi: 10.7150/ijbs.45221. PMID: 32226294. PMCID: PMC7098034.
  10. Control CfD, Prevention. Interim Operational Considerations for Public Health Management of Healthcare Workers Exposed to or with Suspected or Confirmed COVID-19: non-US Healthcare Settings. 2020.
  11. Lipley N. Covid-19: Not a ‘Mental Health Crisis’, Healthcare Experts Warn [Available from: https://rcni.com/nursing-standard/newsroom/news/COVID-19-not-a-mental-health-crisis-healthcareexperts-warn-159611]. doi: 10.7748/mhp.23.3.7.s6.
  12. Adams JG, Walls RM. Supporting the health care workforce during the COVID-19 global epidemic. Jama. 2020;323(15):1439-40. doi: 10.1001/jama.2020.3972. PMID: 32163102.
  13. Liu Q, Luo D, Haase JE, Guo Q, Wang XQ, Liu S, et al. The experiences of health-care providers during the COVID-19 crisis in China: a qualitative study. The Lancet Global Health. 2020;8(6):e790-e8. doi: 10.1016/S2214-109X(20)30204-7. PMID: 32573443; PMCID: PMC7190296.
  14. Polit DF, Beck CT. Nursing research: Generating and assessing evidence for nursing practice: Lippincott Williams & Wilkins; 2008. ISBN-10 ‏: ‎
  15. Leininger M. Transcultural nursing and globalization of health care: Importance, focus, and historical aspects. MM Leininger & MR McFarland, Transcultural nursing: Concepts, theories, research, and practice. 2002:3-43.
  16. Lincoln YS, Guba EG. But is it rigorous? Trustworthiness and authenticity in naturalistic evaluation. New directions for program evaluation. 1986;1986(30):73-84.
  17. McGlinchey E, Hitch C, Butter S, McCaughey L, Berry E, Armour C. Understanding the lived experiences of healthcare professionals during the COVID-19 pandemic: an interpretative phenomenological analysis. European Journal of Psychotraumatology. 2021;12(1):1904700. doi: 10.1080/20008198.2021.1904700. PMID: 35140877; PMCID: PMC8820784.
  18. Yang X, Yu Y, Xu J, Shu H, Liu H, Wu Y, et al. Clinical course and outcomes of critically ill patients with SARS-CoV-2 pneumonia in Wuhan, China: a single-centered, retrospective, observational study. The Lancet Respiratory Medicine. 2020;8(5):475-81. doi: 10.1016/S2213-2600(20)30079-5. PMID: 32105632; PMCID: PMC7102538.
  19. Yu F, Raphael D, Mackay L, Smith M, King A. International Journal of Nursing Studies Personal and work-related factors associated with nurse resilience: A systematic review. 2019. doi: 10.1016/j.ijnurstu.2019.02.014. PMID: 30925279.
  20. Fouogue J, Noubom M, Kenfack B, Dongmo N, Tabeu M, Megozeu L, et al. Poor knowledge of COVID-19 and unfavourable perception of the response to the pandemic by healthcare workers at the Bafoussam Regional Hospital (West Region-Cameroon). 2020. org/10.1101/2020.08.20.20178970.
  21. Shanafelt T, Ripp J, Trockel M. Understanding and addressing sources of anxiety among health care professionals during the COVID-19 pandemic. Jama. 2020;323(21):2133-4. doi: 10.1001/jama.2020.5893. PMID: 32259193.
  22. Huang C, Wang Y, Li X, Ren L, Zhao J, Hu Y, et al. Clinical features of patients infected with 2019 novel coronavirus in Wuhan, China. The lancet. 2020;395(10223):497-506. doi: 10.1016/S0140-6736(20)30183-5. PMID: 31986264; PMCID: PMC7159299.
  23. Lu W, Wang H, Lin Y, Li L. Psychological status of medical workforce during the COVID-19 pandemic: A cross-sectional study. Psychiatry research. 2020;288:112936. doi: 10.1016/j.psychres.2020.112936. PMID: 32276196; PMCID: PMC7195354.
  24. Hiremath P, Kowshik CS, Manjunath M, Shettar M. COVID 19: Impact of lock-down on mental health and tips to overcome. Asian Journal of Psychiatry. 2020;51:102088. doi: 10.1016/j.ajp.2020.102088. PMID: 32302964; PMCID: PMC7151434.
  25. Chen Q, Liang M, Li Y, Guo J, Fei D, Wang L, et al. Mental health care for medical staff in China during the COVID-19 outbreak. The Lancet Psychiatry. 2020;7(4):e15-e6. doi: 10.1016/S2215-0366(20)30078-X. PMID: 32085839; PMCID: PMC7129426.
  26. Connors CA, Dukhanin V, March AL, Parks JA, Norvell M, Wu AW. Peer support for nurses as second victims: Resilience, burnout, and job satisfaction. Journal of Patient Safety and Risk Management. 2020;25(1):22-8. doi:10.1177/2516043519882517.
  27. Okediran JO, Ilesanmi OS, Fetuga AA, Onoh I, Afolabi AA, Ogunbode O, et al. The experiences of healthcare workers during the COVID-19 crisis in Lagos, Nigeria: A qualitative study. Germs. 2020;10(4):356. doi: 10.18683/germs.2020.1228. PMID: 33489951; PMCID: PMC7811855.
  28. Yin-xia B, GEGENTUYA H, Hu L, Zhen-hua W, Wen-rui W, Zhi-gang N. Correlation Between Psychological Changes of The Community Cro wd and The Social Support in Grave Public Health Event [J]. Nei Moivgol Medical Journal. 2005;4.
  29. Li Y, Gao X, Du M, He R, Yang S, Xiong J. What causes different sentiment classification on social network services? evidence from weibo with genetically modified food in China. Sustainability. 2020;12(4):1345. org/10.3390/su12041345.
  30. Hou T, Zhang T, Cai W, Song X, Chen A, Deng G, et al. Social support and mental health among health care workers during Coronavirus Disease 2019 outbreak: A moderated mediation model. Plos one. 2020;15(5):e0233831. doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0233831. PMID: 32470007; PMCID: PMC7259684.
  31. Li L, Xv Q, Yan J. COVID-19: the need for continuous medical education and training. The Lancet Respiratory Medicine. 2020;8(4):e23. doi: 10.1016/S2213-2600(20)30125-9. PMID: 32192586; PMCID: PMC7104229.
  32. Ilesanmi O, Afolabi A, Akande A, Raji T, Mohammed A. Infection prevention and control during COVID-19 pandemic: realities from health care workers in a north central state in Nigeria. Epidemiology & Infection. 2021;149. doi: 10.1017/S0950268821000017. PMID: 33407965; PMCID: PMC7844182.
  33. Ilesanmi O, Afolabi A. Time to move from vertical to horizontal approach in our COVID-19 response in Nigeria. SciMedicine Journal. 2020;2:28-9. doi: 28991/SciMedJ-2020-02-SI-3.
  34. LoGiudice JA, Bartos S. Experiences of nurses during the COVID-19 pandemic: A mixed-methods study. AACN Advanced Critical Care. 2021;32(1):14-26. doi: 10.4037/aacnacc2021816. PMID: 33450763.
  35. Ardebili ME, Naserbakht M, Bernstein C, Alazmani-Noodeh F, Hakimi H, Ranjbar H. Healthcare providers experience of working during the COVID-19 pandemic: a qualitative study. American journal of infection control. 2021;49(5):547-54. doi: 10.1016/j.ajic.2020.10.001. PMCID: PMC7536124.
  36. Sun N, Wei L, Shi S, Jiao D, Song R, Ma L, et al. A qualitative study on the psychological experience of caregivers of COVID-19 patients. American journal of infection control. 2020;48(6):592-8. doi: 10.1016/j.ajic.2020.03.018. PMID: 32334904; PMCID: PMC7141468.
  37. Palacios-Ceña D, Fernández-de-Las-Peñas C, Florencio LL, de-la-Llave-Rincón AI, Palacios-Ceña M. Emotional experience and feelings during first COVID-19 outbreak perceived by physical therapists: a qualitative study in Madrid, Spain. International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health. 2021;18(1):127. doi: 10.3390/ijerph18010127. PMID: 33375405; PMCID: PMC7795029.
  38. Wang H, Liu Y, Hu K, Zhang M, Du M, Huang H, et al. Healthcare workers’ stress when caring for COVID-19 patients: An altruistic perspective. Nursing ethics. 2020;27(7):1490-500. doi: 10.1177/0969733020934146. PMID: 32662326.
  39. Lai J, Ma S, Wang Y, Cai Z, Hu J, Wei N, et al. Factors associated with mental health outcomes among health care workers exposed to coronavirus disease 2019. JAMA network open. 2020;3(3):e203976-e. doi: 10.1001/jamanetworkopen.2020.3976. PMID: 32202646. PMCID: PMC7090843.
  40. Neto MLR, Almeida HG, Esmeraldo JDa, Nobre CB, Pinheiro WR, de Oliveira CRT, et al. When health professionals look death in the eye: the mental health of professionals who deal daily with the 2019 coronavirus outbreak. Psychiatry research. 2020;288:112972. doi: 10.1016/j.psychres.2020.112972. PMID: 32302817; PMCID: PMC7152886.
  41. Hashemi A, Bahmani F, Saeedi Tehrani S, Forouzandeh M, Koohpayehzadeh J, Ashrafi M, Khalajzadeh MR, Motevalian SA. Ethical considerations and interdisciplinary approach to research on COVID-19 pandemic: The response of Iran University of Medical Sciences. Med J Islam Repub Iran. 2020 July 29;34:87. doi: 10.34171/mjiri.34.87. PMID: 33306052; PMCID: PMC7711043.

 

Home

Guide for Authors

Submit Manuscript

Guide for Reviewers

Contact Us

Forms