Health-care professionals coping responses to the COVID-19 pandemic in Pakistan

Abstract

Background In the last two years, the infectious disease such as COVID-19 create a prodigious uncertainty not only in general population but also in health care professionals. This often leads to emotional distress in general public and particularly in health care professionals. Objectives During COVID-19 pandemic in Pakistan, the health care professionals experienced unusual stressors. This study aimed to examine the coping responses, optimism, pessimism and psychiatric morbidity of health professionals serving the COVID-19 patients. Participants Total 87, health care professionals take part in study, whom 36 were physicians and 51 nursing staff. Among these 44 were male, and 43 were female. Method Researchers used cross sectional research design in this study. Physicians and nurses completed self-reported questionnaires. Participants provided demographics data and recorded their responses to self-administered questionnaires. Researchers administered Brief coping orientation to problems experiences (COPE) for assessing the coping strategies, while they assessed psychiatric morbidity through general health questionnaires. Similarly, future expectancy of health care professional was assessed by using life orientation scale. Participants were recruited from quarantine words in two federal government hospitals providing health care services to covid-19 patients in Pakistan. Result The result showed a significant relationship in optimism and problem focus coping style and avoidance coping style. Moreover, male health professionals score high on optimism as compared to female health professionals. While, avoidance coping style were seen higher in female health professional as compare to male. The result revealed that optimism and psychiatric morbidity were significantly positive in health professionals having problem focus and avoidance coping style.

Level of Trust in Health Care Systems during COVID-19 Pandemic among Health Care Workers of Pakistan

“…Our findings are alarming– not only were healthcare workers facing the risk of exposure and mortality to COVID-19 12 along with unprecedented levels of violence during the pandemic 13 but recent policies by the current government 14 , 15 may drive this low level of trust even further down, leading to a worsening shortage of adequately trained healthcare workers, particularly male healthcare workers, similar to the respondents in our survey, who are leaving clinical medicine in Pakistan to better employment opportunities in the Global North, 16 , 17 worsening quality of clinical care in the country. Similar to our study, another study from Pakistan found that males have more optimism and better coping mechanisms towards the pandemic than females, 18 suggesting that female healthcare workers may be more vulnerable than previously thought. Poor patient compliance is also a driver of growing dissatisfaction with the health care system, given the low literacy in Pakistan and with even lower health literacy rates among the economically disadvantaged population, 19 , 20 served mostly by the government sector hospitals, who already struggle with resource allocation and human resource management.…”

Estratégias de enfrentamento (Coping) utilizadas por profissionais de saúde durante a pandemia de COVID-19

“…Um estudo realizado durante a primeira onda da pandemia, com profissionais de saúde, utilizou-se dos mesmos termos para classificar as estratégias de coping utilizadas por esses trabalhadores 10 . O coping focalizado no problema pode ser entendido O enfrentamento aponta para um conjunto de possibilidades que o indivíduo possui como recurso e não necessariamente atitudes reconhecidas como positivas dentro da situação.…”