Stressor Combat Strategies and Motivating Factors Among Health Care Service Providers During COVID-19 Pandemic

Abstract

Since its inception in December 2019 in Wuhan, China, the severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus-2, the etiological agent for coronavirus disease 2019 , is spreading rapidly both locally and internationally, and became certified as a pandemic by the World Health Organization (WHO) in March 2020. Working in an environment of high risk, coupled with adherence to quarantine and stressors related to the job, has been found to exacerbate the psychological health of frontline healthcare workers. AimsTo assess the perceived stressors, combat strategies, and motivating factors among health care service providers during the COVID-19 pandemic. Setting and designA cross-sectional study was conducted among healthcare workers at a tertiary care hospital in the northcentral region of India from May to September 2020. Methods and materialsA convenience sample of 150 health care workers was taken. A self-reported pretested structured "COVID 19 staff questionnaire" was used as a study tool. The health care workers (HCWs) included nurses, physicians, laboratory technicians, and radiology technicians who worked in high-risk areas (isolation ward, COVID intensive care unit, emergency department, and outpatient cough outdoor walk-in clinics) during the outbreak constituted our study population. Statistical analysis usedThe varying levels of stress or effectiveness of measures were reported as mean and standard deviation, as appropriate. Descriptive statistics were used for data presentation. A Mann-Whitney U test was used to analyse differences between two groups of non-normally distributed data. A p-value of less than 0.05 was considered statistically significant. ResultsAs compared to doctors, paramedical staffs were more stressed with frequent protocol changes (88%), emotional exhaustion (68%), and conflicts with duties (62.7%). The factors like seeing colleague getting better (78.7%) and hoping for financial compensation (49.3%) were reported as stress busters; family compensation in case of death at the workplace and disability benefits in case of disease-related disability development were more effective motivational factors for paramedical staff in case of future outbreaks (pvalue <0.05). ConclusionsIt is needful that secondarily traumatized team members should be always observed, educated, and properly handled. Certain personal coping strategies adopted by health workers should be well addressed and motivated if scientifically sustainable. We have to include psychiatric preparedness and stress monitoring also for health care teams along with emphasizing hygiene, temperature monitoring, and fever management, in planning to fight the pandemic.

Healthcare Workers’ Emotions, Stressor Experiences and Coping Strategies During the COVID-19 Pandemic in Vietnam

“… 10 However, these figures are much higher than that reported in a recent study among a convenience sample of 150 healthcare workers in India where 43.3% indicated feeling nervous and scared during the COVID-19 pandemic. 11 These findings confirm the important role of the unpredictability and uncertainty of the disease, misinformation from media and social isolation in explaining adverse feelings among HCWs. 18 While at present it is not possible to provide HCWs with certainty about when the COVID-19 pandemic will end, the provision of psychological support for HCWs is clearly needed.…”

“…Notably, while only 52.8% of HCWs were unhappy to do overtime, this figure was significantly higher in Saudi Arabia and India with 93% and 96% of HCWs having this feeling, respectively. 8 , 11 Moreover, while about 10% thought of quitting their job or calling in sick in our study, HCWs in Saudi Arabia during the MERS-CoV outbreak intended to quit jobs (92%) or to take sick leave (62%). These differences are possibly due to the situation of the study hospitals.…”

“…Similar to previous studies, 8 , 9 , 11 the most common coping strategies used included following strict personal protective measures, avoiding going out in public places, reading about SARS-CoV-2, its prevention and mechanism of transmission. In contrast, while only 13% of our participants coped with COVID-19 by venting emotions such as crying and screaming, which is similar in the study by Srivastava et al (10.7%), 11 this figure was almost double in the study by Lee et al 9 and triple in the study by Khalid et al 8 Our study is also in line with the literature where positive attitudes from colleagues, sufficient protective equipment and clear guidelines provided by the hospital were reported by HCWs as the most important strategic and motivational factors to help them to cope with stress during the pandemic. 19 Importantly, although no SARS-CoV-2 case was under care and treatment at the study hospital, nearly 85% indicated the need for psychiatric help and therapy made available in the workplace to help reduce stress and anxiety.…”

Stress and Associated Factors among Frontline Healthcare Workers in the COVID-19 Epicenter of Da Nang City, Vietnam

“…In our study, the prevalence of stress in the group directly in charge of treating and taking care of patients, who were physicians and nurses, was 50.3% and 46.3%, respectively (Table 1). Overload of work, contact with severely ill COVID-19 patients, along with the fear of infection and infecting relatives, are factors that cause stress in this group [19,20]. A high prevalence of stress (50%) was also observed among laboratory workers.…”

“…In December 2019, an outbreak of the novel coronavirus 2019 disease (COVID- 19) was declared in Wuhan, China and rapidly spread to other countries. By March 2020, COVID-19 had evolved into a pandemic that subjected healthcare systems and workers to tremendous pressure [1].…”