Protecting our healthcare workers during the COVID-19 pandemic

Ehrlich, Haley; McKenney, Mark; Elkbuli, Adel

doi:10.1016/j.ajem.2020.04.024

Cited by 183 publications

(182 citation statements)

References 6 publications

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“…Rapidly changing clinical practice, inadequate pandemic preparation, insufficient and limited resources, and potential disease exposure all contribute to perceived threats to personal safety (Holroyd & McNaught, 2008; Shiao, Koh, Lo, Lim, & Guo, 2007). While deaths of colleagues have created uncertainty and anxiety in previous pandemics (Holroyd & McNaught, 2008; Koh et al, 2012), the high number of healthcare workers dying globally due to COVID‐19 (Ehrlich, McKenney, & Elkbuli, 2020) are likely to have increased current concerns. Strategies to promote the dissemination of consistent and reliable information may be the key to ensuring that nurses are well informed and supported to manage these fears.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

The Experiences of Primary Healthcare Nurses During the COVID‐19 Pandemic in Australia

Halcomb

McInnes

Williams

et al. 2020

J of Nursing Scholarship

210

287

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Purpose The COVID‐19 pandemic has presented an international health crisis of a scope not seen in our lifetime. While much attention has been paid to health workers in critical care and acute areas, nurses working outside of hospitals are also significantly affected. This study sought to investigate the experience of nurses working in Australian primary healthcare during the COVID‐19 pandemic. In particular, it sought to understand the implications on their employment status, role, and access to personal protective equipment. Design and Methods Nurses employed in primary healthcare across Australia were invited to participate in a cross‐sectional online survey through social media and professional organizations. The survey tool was composed of demographics, and of questions about the nurses’ employment, work role, and access to personal protective equipment. Findings Of the 637 responses received, nearly half (43.7%) reported a decrease in hours and threatened or actual loss of employment. While most respondents felt that they had sufficient knowledge about COVID‐19, they expressed concern about work‐related risks to themselves and their family. Most respondents described never or only sometimes having sufficient personal protective equipment in their workplace. Just over half of respondents (54.8%) felt well supported by their employer. A third of respondents (34%) perceived that care provided in their workplace was significantly or slightly worse than before the pandemic. Conclusions This is the first study of primary healthcare nurses’ experiences during the COVID‐19 pandemic. The study findings highlighted a concerning level of insecurity around primary healthcare nursing employment, as well as issues with the availability of personal protective equipment for these nurses. The perception that the pandemic has resulted in reduced quality of care needs further exploration to ensure that those with chronic conditions are supported to maintain and promote health. Clinical Relevance Understanding the implications of COVID‐19 on the primary healthcare nursing workforce is vital to ensure staff retention and care quality. Ensuring that the community remains healthy and supported at home is vital to both reduce the burden on the health system and reduce secondary mortality.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

The Experiences of Primary Healthcare Nurses During the COVID‐19 Pandemic in Australia

Halcomb

McInnes

Williams

et al. 2020

J of Nursing Scholarship

210

287

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

show abstract

“…It is already known that social network structure and function are strongly intertwined with anxiety and depressive symptoms [ 12 ], therefore it is possible that doctors who are working less than 20 h a week are more likely to be distressed due to unusually less work and less social interaction. This may be compounded by feelings of guilt of leaving colleagues to work instead of them [ 20 ].…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

COVID-19 pandemic- knowledge, perception, anxiety and depression among frontline doctors of Pakistan

et al. 2020

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Background COVID-19 is a global pandemic and has become a major public health burden worldwide. With already fragile healthcare systems it can have long lasting effects in developing countries. Outbreaks especially a pandemic situation evokes fear related behaviors among healthcare professionals and there is always an increased risk of mental health disorders. Therefore, this study aims to determine knowledge and perception about this pandemic, prevalence and factors associated with anxiety/depression among frontline physicians of Pakistan. Methods Data were collected through an online survey released in the last week of March-2020. 389 frontline physicians from all four provinces and 65 cities of Pakistan participated. Survey questionnaire consisted of 4 parts including informed consent section, demographic section, knowledge and perception about COVID-19 pandemic and assessment of depression through World Health Organization Self-reporting questionnaire (SRQ-20). A score of 8 or above on SRQ-20 was used as cut-off to label the participant as depressed. Data was analyzed using SPSS version22. Results A 43% prevalence of anxiety/depression among frontline physicians of Pakistan was reported. Almost all the doctors had moderate to high knowledge score. Majority of participants marked N-95 mask as “essential” during aerosol generating procedures, assessing patients with respiratory symptoms, in COVID patient-care area, ER triage and direct care of COVID-19 patient. Only 12% of the doctors were fully satisfied with the provision of PPEs and almost 94% felt unprotected. In multivariable model, assessing more than five COVID suspects/day (aOR = 2.73, 95% CI: 1.65–4.52), working 20 h/week or less (aOR = 2.11, 1.27–3.49), having children among household members (aOR = 1.58, 95% CI: 1.00–2.50) and moderate to low knowledge of the infection (aOR = 2.69, 95% CI: 1.68–4.31) were found to be independent predictors of anxiety/depression among physicians. Conclusion Anxiety/depression among more than a third of frontline doctors of Pakistan warrants the need to address mental health of doctors caring for patients during this pandemic; control modifiable factors associated with it and explore the effectiveness of interventions to promote psychological well-being of physicians.

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“…With the global outbreak of COVID-19 in recent three months, medial resources, including personal protective equipment (PPE) and human resources, are insufficient to cope with rapid growth of diagnosed patients. Recently, the health status of healthcare professionals involved in management of patients with COVID-19 was concerned [1][2][3][4][5] . A number of physicians realized and called on the potential risks on health of healthcare professionals due to the shortage of PPE [4][5][6][7][8][9] .…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

The impact of goggle-associated harms to health and working status of nurses during management of COVID-19

Feng²,

et al. 2020

Preprint

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Background To investigate the impact of goggles on their health and clinical practice during management of patients with COVID-19.Methods 231 nurse practitioners were enrolled who worked in isolation region in designated hospitals to admit patients with COVID-19 in China. Demographic data, goggle-associated symptoms and underlying reasons, incidence of medical errors or exposures, the effects of fog in goggles on practice were all collected. Data were stratified and analyzed by age or working experience. Risk factors of goggle-associated medical errors were analyzed by multivariable logistical regression analysis.Findings Goggle-associated symptoms and foggy goggles widely presented in nurses. The most common symptoms were headache, skin pressure injury and dizziness. Headache, vomit and nausea were significantly fewer reported in nurses with longer working experience while rash occurred higher in this group. The underlying reasons included tightness of goggles, unsuitable design and uncomfortable materials. The working status of nurses with more working experience was less impacted by goggles. 11.3% nurses occurred medical exposures in clinical practice while 19.5% nurses made medical errors on patients. The risk factors for medical errors were time interval before adapting to goggle-associated discomforts, adjusting goggles and headache.

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Protecting our healthcare workers during the COVID-19 pandemic

Cited by 183 publications

References 6 publications

The Experiences of Primary Healthcare Nurses During the COVID‐19 Pandemic in Australia

The Experiences of Primary Healthcare Nurses During the COVID‐19 Pandemic in Australia

COVID-19 pandemic- knowledge, perception, anxiety and depression among frontline doctors of Pakistan

The impact of goggle-associated harms to health and working status of nurses during management of COVID-19

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