Austerity Measures and Underfunding of the Spanish Health System during the COVID-19 Pandemic—Perception of Healthcare Staff in Spain

Otero‐García, Laura; Mateos, José Tomás; Esperato, Alexo; Llubes-Arrià, Laia; Regulez-Campo, Vanesa; Muntaner, Carles; Legido‐Quigley, Helena

doi:10.3390/ijerph20032594

Cited by 8 publications

(3 citation statements)

References 37 publications

(37 reference statements)

Supporting

Mentioning

Contrasting

Order By: Relevance

“…There were multiple issues that put health systems under strain despite previous activities in the framework of pandemic preparedness. They mostly related to the pre-existing shortages of staff in the health system entry points, especially in primary care [18], as well as shortages of staff in infectious disease management and critical care units (e.g., intensive care doctors and nurses as well as anaesthetists) [19][20][21][22][23][24][25]. Consequently, health systems became overwhelmed quickly by big numbers of acute patients with severe respiratory problems [26,27].…”

Section: Pandemic Preparednessmentioning

confidence: 99%

Challenges to Global Health Emerging from the COVID-19 Pandemic

Albreht

2023

Sustainability

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

The COVID-19 pandemic deepened challenges and opened new fronts where old and unresolved problems met with new problems triggered by the pandemic itself. There are several issues, problems, and challenges related to the post-COVID world we are in. This paper discusses some of them from different perspectives and elaborates on the future challenges and their solutions, which need to be tackled. Apart from the pre-existing problems, we are now also facing new military conflicts, interrupted supply chains, even in medicines supplies, as well as the worsening of climate change, further complicated by the military conflicts and a potential new global economic crisis. The COVID-19 pandemic left the world with many uncertainties about the future as there seem to be few answers ready to tackle the combination of the fallout of the COVID-19 pandemic coupled with the pre-existing problems and challenges. Inequalities in terms of socio-economic differences and inequalities in health are driving disease burden, which will again be marked by the population aging and non-communicable diseases (NCDs). Global collaboration and the joint search for solutions to global challenges have become inevitable. Research into behavioral determinants of health and health promotion are essential in understanding the sources of controversy regarding and resistance to proven public health interventions.

show abstract

Section: Pandemic Preparednessmentioning

confidence: 99%

Challenges to Global Health Emerging from the COVID-19 Pandemic

Albreht

2023

Sustainability

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

show abstract

“…While the pandemic is now ostensibly under control, the situation has exposed many de ciencies in the health system, which is still under intense pressure at both the hospital and, especially, primary care level [11]. The psychological vulnerability of healthcare workers has also been underscored, and moreover, exhaustion and the psychological consequences of this experience may appear at any time and be longlasting [12].…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Study protocol: Assessment of the usefulness and practicability of a psychoeducational intervention to prevent the negative psychological impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on primary care health workers

Aragonès

Rodoreda

Guitart

et al. 2023

Preprint

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Background The COVID-19 pandemic has constituted an extraordinarily stressful situation for healthcare professionals and has led to psychological distress and an increase in various mental disorders. In the post-pandemic context, it is necessary to provide professionals with strategies and skills to manage this stressful situation and prevent or minimize its negative impact. Methods Aims: To assess the feasibility and clinical effects of a group psychoeducational program focused on preventing the adverse psychological and emotional effects of the pandemic on primary care workers, and to explore the experience and perceptions of participants with regard to the program from a qualitative perspective. Design: A single-arm, before-and-after study conducted in primary care. Setting: The 332 primary care centers of the Catalan Institute of Health (Catalonia) Participants: The target population of the intervention is primary care workers of all professional profiles. The implementation strategy will also involve community psychologists, who will lead the psychoeducational groups, and the health organization promoting the implementation. Intervention: A group psychoeducational program targeting primary care workers to promote emotional well-being and the ability to cope with stressful situations. Community psychologists will deliver it in the primary care centers they are linked to. Measures: Mixed-methods evaluation, analyzing quantitative and qualitative data. A prospective assessment of the main outcomes (professional quality of life, psychological state, and resilience) will be performed using online questionnaires before and immediately after the intervention, and at 3 and 6 months. A qualitative study will be conducted, comprising focus groups and individual in-depth interviews with the participants in the intervention and the psychologists who provide it. Ethics: The Research Ethics Committee of the Jordi Gol Primary Care Research Institute (IDIAP) has approved the protocol (22/086-PCV). Discussion This project proposes an intervention to promote mental health and psychological well-being in primary care workers by learning skills and integrating them into personal and professional life. The expected results will allow us to determine the usefulness and effectiveness of this psychoeducational intervention under the conditions of real clinical practice, provide data to model and perfect it, and promote its dissemination. Trial registration ClinicalTrials.gov Identifier: NCT05720429.

show abstract

“…While the pandemic is now ostensibly under control, the situation has exposed many deficiencies in the health system, which is still under intense pressure especially at the primary care level [ 13 ]. The psychological vulnerability of healthcare workers has also been underscored, and moreover, exhaustion and the psychological consequences of this experience may appear at any time and be long-lasting [ 14 ].…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Study protocol: assessment of the usefulness and practicability of a psychoeducational intervention to prevent the negative psychological impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on primary care health workers

Aragonès,

Rodoreda,

Guitart

et al. 2023

BMC Prim. Care

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Background The COVID-19 pandemic has constituted an extraordinarily stressful situation for healthcare professionals and has led to psychological distress and an increase in various mental disorders. In the post-pandemic context, it is necessary to provide professionals with strategies and skills to manage this stressful situation and prevent or minimize its negative impact. Methods Aims: To assess the feasibility and clinical effects of a group psychoeducational program focused on preventing the adverse psychological and emotional effects of the pandemic on primary care workers, and to explore the experience and perceptions of participants with regard to the program from a qualitative perspective. Design: A single-arm, before-and-after study conducted in primary care. Setting: The 332 primary care centers of the Catalan Institute of Health (Catalonia, Spain) Participants: The target population of the intervention is primary care workers, including clinical profiles (e.g., nurses and doctors), and non-clinical profiles (e.g., administrative staff). The implementation strategy will also involve community psychologists, who will lead the psychoeducational groups, and the health organization promoting the implementation. Intervention: A group psychoeducational program targeting primary care workers to promote emotional well-being and the ability to cope with stressful situations. Community psychologists will deliver it in the primary care centers they are linked to. Measures: Mixed-methods evaluation, combining quantitative and qualitative research. A prospective assessment of the main outcomes (professional quality of life, psychological state, and resilience) will be performed using online questionnaires before and immediately after the intervention, and at 3 and 6 months. A qualitative study will be conducted, comprising focus groups and individual in-depth interviews with the participants in the intervention and the psychologists who provide it. Ethics: The Research Ethics Committee of the Jordi Gol Primary Care Research Institute (IDIAP) has approved the protocol (22/086-PCV). Discussion This project proposes an intervention to promote mental health and psychological well-being in primary care workers by learning skills and integrating them into personal and professional life. The expected results will allow us to determine the usefulness and effectiveness of this psychoeducational intervention under the conditions of real clinical practice, provide data to model and perfect it, and promote its dissemination. Trial registration ClinicalTrials.gov Identifier: NCT05720429; registered on 09/02/2023.

show abstract

Austerity Measures and Underfunding of the Spanish Health System during the COVID-19 Pandemic—Perception of Healthcare Staff in Spain

Cited by 8 publications

References 37 publications

Challenges to Global Health Emerging from the COVID-19 Pandemic

Challenges to Global Health Emerging from the COVID-19 Pandemic

Study protocol: Assessment of the usefulness and practicability of a psychoeducational intervention to prevent the negative psychological impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on primary care health workers

Study protocol: assessment of the usefulness and practicability of a psychoeducational intervention to prevent the negative psychological impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on primary care health workers

Contact Info

Product

Resources

About