Concerns of health care professionals managing non-COVID patients during the COVID-19 pandemic: A descriptive cross-sectional study

Abstract

Context: The coronavirus pandemic has put an unprecedented burden on the health-care workers who are the cornerstone of the work system, preparing to mitigate its effects. Due to the lack of protective equipments, guidelines for managing patients, or proper training and education regarding the same, health care professionals (HCPs) working in non-COVID areas may face even greater problems than those working in COVID areas of a hospital. Our aim was to find out the concerns of HCPs working in non-COVID areas. Subjects and Methods: After obtaining institutional ethics approval, a descriptive cross-sectional study was planned. An online Google-based questionnaire was rolled out to all doctors through various social media platforms who were dealing with COVID-negative patients. Results: We received a total of 110 responses. 84.5% of participants were concerned about the risk of infection to self and family, 67.3% were concerned by the disruption of their daily activities. 56.4% of HCPs were disturbed by the lack of any concrete protocol for patient management. Less staff availability, delay in discharging duties toward their patients, and increased workload were other concerns. More than half of the doctors received N-95 masks whenever required and were trained in donning and doffing of Personal protective equipment. Sixty-eight percemt of our respondents labeled their current quality of life as stressful. Conclusion: It is the need of the hour to develop a comprehensive strategy focussing on the above challenges that HCPs working in non-COVID areas are facing. This will go a long way in not only providing holistic care to the patients but also in controlling this pandemic.

Experiences and management of physician psychological symptoms during infectious disease outbreaks: a rapid review

“…Sixty-one studies reported on fear related to an infectious disease outbreak [ 29 – 31 , 35 – 37 , 43 , 46 , 53 , 55 , 61 , 64 , 72 , 74 , 78 – 83 , 85 – 87 , 94 , 95 , 99 , 100 , 107 – 109 , 115 , 117 , 119 , 123 , 128 , 131 , 132 , 134 , 142 , 146 , 147 , 155 – 173 ]. Most of the studies ( n = 52) reported physician’s fear of infecting themselves or their family.…”

“…Physicians reported the importance of having social support from friends, family, colleagues, and professionals (e.g., counsellors) in 29 studies [ 28 , 30 , 39 , 43 , 44 , 48 , 56 , 58 , 67 , 72 , 78 , 83 , 91 , 99 , 102 , 106 , 115 , 119 , 131 , 150 , 155 , 163 , 172 , 192 , 202 – 205 ]. Several studies ( n = 29) described positive personal coping strategies such as maintaining a positive attitude and resilience [ 37 , 46 , 83 , 100 , 106 , 108 , 136 , 202 , 205 , 206 ], practicing self-care (e.g., physical activity, eating well, resting, engaging in activities they enjoy) [ 30 , 35 , 56 , 65 , 70 , 91 , 102 , 103 , 117 , 119 , 129 , 131 , 150 , 151 , 207 ], and engaging with religious practices [ 39 , 46 , 131 , 205 ] as a way to mitigate negative psychological outcomes. In contrast, two studies reported that physicians engaged in avoidance coping strategies (e.g., screaming, crying, denial, self-blame, disengaging, substance abuse, etc.)…”

COVID-19 Psychological Impact on Health Care Workers in Saudi Arabia

“…Low percentages of anxiety and depression in our study and the previous studies might be attributed to the fact that health care professionals experience high levels of satisfaction from their roles caring for others [ 28 ] and that religious beliefs have supported the positive effects of spirituality on health care professionals [ 29 ]. However, the depressed mood or anxiety exhibited in some healthcare professionals is exacerbated by the extraordinary burden of an augmented work load, inadequate personal protective equipment, the fear of developing COVID-19 virus infection with ensuing infection of friends and relatives, and the need to make ethically tough decisions [ 30 , 31 ].…”

Adapting to the unexpected: Problematic work situations and resilience strategies in healthcare institutions during the COVID-19 pandemic’s first wave

“…Shortages of personal protective equipment (PPE) represented significant difficulties ( Slotkin et al, 2020 ). Reduced staff availability hindered routine activities ( Sarma et al, 2020 ). Workers’ mental well-being was under severe strain ( Dubey et al, 2020 , Amin, 2020 , Fernandez et al, 2020 , Lai et al, 2020 ).…”

“…Rarely used healthcare policies, such as quarantine and patient triage, the implementation of various protective measures, widespread respirator use and new communication technologies were additional stress factors ( Amin, 2020 , Greenberg et al, 2020 ). Moreover, the lack of clear, existing protocols did not allow professionals to work as efficiently and satisfactorily as desired ( Fang et al, 2020 , Sarma et al, 2020 , Slotkin et al, 2020 ). Furthermore, the pandemic may have had a negative impact on the overall quality of care worldwide because of the greater numbers of patients and overloaded, overwhelmed hospitals providing care with fewer resources than usual ( Baker et al, 2020 )…”