Protective and Risk Factors of Italian Healthcare Professionals during the COVID-19 Pandemic Outbreak: A Qualitative Study

Abstract

The COVID-19 pandemic put the Italian health system under great stress. The sudden reorganization of work practices and the emotional impact of the large number of the victims had many consequences on the well-being of the healthcare professionals (HCPs) involved in managing the crisis. In the available literature, most studies have focused on the risk aspects while only few studies also take into account protective factors. For this reason, it was decided to conduct, within psycho-sociological perspective, a qualitative study with the aim to explore in depth the protective and risk factors as experienced by HCPs who worked in the Italian healthcare system during the COVID-19 outbreak. A total of 19 semi-structured interviews were conducted with HCPs–9 nurses and 10 physicians (7M and 12F) with an average age of 43 (SD = 13.4)–selected using snowball sampling. Considering three different levels of analysis the results highlight the protective and risk factors: personal history level (intrinsic/ethical motivation and flexible role versus extrinsic motivation and static role), interpersonal level (perception of supportive relationships with colleagues, patients, and family versus bad relationships), and organizational level (good leadership and sustainable work purpose versus absence of support from management and undefined or confused tasks).

Vulnerability, loss, and coping experiences of health care workers and first responders during the covid-19 pandemic: a qualitative study

“…Study participants’ sense of vulnerability extended to the communities in which they lived. Separation from families by moving away from home or by isolating themselves when in their homes to protect their family members from COVID-19 was a common finding in this and other studies (Coşkun Şimşek & Günay, 2021 ; De Leo, Cianci, Mastore & Gozzoli, 2021 ; Fontanini et al, 2021 ; Gordon et al, 2021 ; Joo & Liu, 2021 ; Moradi, Baghaei, Hosseingholipour & Mollazadeh, 2021 ; Shreffler et al, 2020 ; White, Wetle, Reddy & Baier, 2021 ). Study participants felt ostracized by their community and witnessed their children shunned due to their parents’ involvement in caring for individuals with COVID-19.…”

Impact of the COVID‐19 pandemic on pediatric oncology providers globally: A mixed‐methods study

“…Finally, teamwork, interpersonal interactions, frequent communication, clear leadership, and a sense of purpose were found to protect health care workers. 42 High levels of collegiality, cooperation, and positive coworker relationships were noted as positive impacts in an international study of oncologists. 29 Our findings support these tenets and suggest implementing frequent communication, structured debriefing, policies to protect staff safety, procedural algorithms, and psychological support can balance out negative impacts on HCPs across resource settings.…”

Occupational Disruptions during the COVID-19 Pandemic and Their Association with Healthcare Workers’ Mental Health

“…Those who were satisfied with the usefulness and timeliness of communications were less likely to experience depersonalisation and more likely to have a higher sense of personal achievement. Unclear communications have previously been shown to erode HCWs' sense of trust in their workplace leadership and reduce their willingness to respond in a crisis [35][36][37]. Empowering nurses to hold leadership roles during crises is essential, as they occupy a unique space, are trained in emotional support and conflict resolution, and may have insights that are not apparent to non-frontline workers [33,38].…”