Coronavirus and Its Impacts on Health Workers Retention: A Systematic Review and Meta-Synthesis

Abstract

Background: The present study aimed to determine the prerequisites and requirements for retention of human resources during the Covid-19 disaster. It was tried in this study to systematically review the challenges and prerequisites, strategies, and measures related to the retention of health workers during the disaster.Methods: This is a systematic review and meta-synthesis of all the articles related to the factors affecting the retention of human resources during the Covid-19 disaster. The articles were searched using the keywords Retention, Human resource, and COVID-19 in the following databases without a time limit: PubMed, Scopus, and Web of science. To select the studies, the titles, abstracts, and full texts that complied with the inclusion criteria of the present systematic review were examined, and the 226 preliminary results and abstract were screened. Finally, 23 full texts were obtained, and regarding the type and nature of the materials extracted from the studies, a meta-synthesis was used to analyze and aggregate the results of the systematic review.Results: The 23 articles included in the systematic review and meta-synthesis were reviewed, and the effects of the Covid-19 disaster on the healthcare staff and the retention strategies were considered as the main themes of the study. In this regard, stigma and violence against the staff, burnout and stress, increased staff workload, acquisition of communication skills, employees' mental and physical health, employee safety during disaster, staff mobilization to assist the current forces, expansion of cyberspace infrastructures, and motivational-health incentives were selected as codes.Conclusion: Retention or non-retention of the personnel during or after a disaster can be caused by the multifaceted effects of the crisis on people. Thus, a combination of several appropriate strategies should be used to respond to it in order to reduce the adverse effects of the disaster. Also, aligning the personnel can help using their synergistic power to face and respond to the challenges ahead.

Covid 19 Pandemic and Healthcare Sector in North Macedonia: What Has Changed for the Human Resource Management

“…Elsafty and Ragheb (2020) have conducted research on employees in healthcare industry, more specifically from the medical supplies sector, and found that health related and quality of life and access to information and updates on the Pandemic with financial benefits are the most important variables to the retention of employees (p.57). Furthermore, Jamebozorgi et al (2021) conducted a systematic review of 23 articles related to coronavirus impact on health workers retention and synthetized the effects of Covid19 on hospital staff and the retention strategies used by the HR managers and senior management. According to Jamebozorgi et al (2021) the most significant effects of Covid 19 on hospital staff include: violence and stigma against the staff, burnout and stress and increased employee workloads, while the retention strategies include: acquiring communication skills, attention to employees mental and physical health, attention to employee's safety, mobilizing the staff to assist the current forces, expanding cyberspace infrastructures and motivational-health incentives.…”

“…Stuart et al (2021). Humphries et al (2021) have noted that "the pandemic intensified and reinforced, rather than radically altered, the dynamics of doctor emigration from Ireland", while Jamebozorgi et al (2021) and Rangachari and Woods (2020) are more focused on strategies and recommendations for staff retention. Nevertheless, this crisis showed that the retention of the most skillful staff should be a central aim of every organization, especially in the healthcare sector.…”

“…Several theoretical approaches have discussed the antecedents of job-attitudes, as well the antecedents of job-satisfaction. The research of the factors affecting the formation of jobattitudes, which also includes job-satisfaction, is important because from a psychological point of view attitudes are related to specific behaviors (Ajzen, 1991;Judge et al, 2012). Judge at al.…”

“…In this circumstances retention of the key healthcare providers is one of the most important tasks of the human resource managers and the administration of the healthcare organizations. Jamebozorgi et al (2021), have noted that "retention of human resources, especially in the health sector, is more important in disasters than in any other time, because an organization's human resources should not only work against disastrous threats such as disease outbreaks, but also have to encounter new underlying problems" (p.3). Rangachari and Woods (2021) have argued "how a stoic approach to healthcare worker support during the Covid 19 pandemic has the potential to restrict organizational resilience, and adversely impact patient safety and staff retention during and beyond the pandemic period" (p.9).…”

Exploring the Well-being of Health Care Workers During the COVID-19 Pandemic: Protocol for a Prospective Longitudinal Study

“…Specifically, increased rates of absenteeism reported by HCWs not only contribute to added burden of care for colleagues but more importantly highlight the systemic need for additional support for HCWs [ 18 ]. Meanwhile, reviews suggest that increased workloads, occupational stress and burnout, and organizational changes are expected to pose critical challenges in future to the long-term retention of HCWs [ 19 ]. Taken together, research is urgently needed to understand HCWs’ experiences during the COVID-19 pandemic, including challenges and changes in the workplace, moral-ethical dilemmas, evolving occupational duties, standards of care, service delivery, and the effects of COVID-19 on dimensions of mental health and well-being.…”