The Experiences of Health Care Workers during the COVID-19 Pandemic in Korea: a Qualitative Study

Abstract

Background During the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic, health care workers (HCWs) have faced multiple physical and psychological challenges while carrying out their duties. In this study, we examined the experiences of specific groups of HCWs during the pandemic. Methods From 18 November to 30 December 2020, we conducted a qualitative study using semi-structured, face-to-face interviews with four groups of 14 HCWs in three cities (Seoul, Daegu, and Gwangju) in South Korea. The HCWs who participated in the focus groups included physicians, nurses, medical practitioners, and cleaning staff who directly or indirectly cared for patients during the COVID-19 epidemic. Interviews were transcribed verbatim and analyzed using the consensual qualitative research approach. Results Our qualitative data analysis revealed four main domains: work-related struggles, personal life-related struggles, psychological stress, and health-related struggles. Health care providers were challenged by working in critical situations and were overwhelmed by heavy workloads, fear of infection, lifestyle changes, and psychological and physical struggles. Conclusion Our findings could serve as a foundation for establishing health care systems and policies that help HCWs cope with occupational stress, thus increasing their ability to adapt to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic.

Burnout and Resilience among Emergency Physicians at Korean University Hospitals during the COVID-19 Pandemic: A Cross-Sectional Analysis

“…Further, healthcare workers suffer from excessive workloads leading to health-related issues, psychological stress and burnout, lifestyle changes, and fear of infection when treating COVID-19 patients. 2 …”

Difficulties of healthcare workers encountered under cohort isolation in a psychiatric hospital during the COVID-19 pandemic: A qualitative study

“…These are not far from previous qualitative studies about HCWs under other COVID-19 pandemic situations. ( Aughterson et al., 2021 ; Banerjee et al., 2021 ; J.Y. Lee et al., 2021 ; Rathnayake et al., 2021 ) However, the HCWs in this study had worked in a critical situation, because they had cared for in-patients with severe mental illnesses without a break.…”

Emotional Distress of the COVID-19 Cluster Infection on Health Care Workers Working at a National Hospital in Korea

“…It was also interesting that the higher scores of a questionnaire item regarding work experience involving ‘If optional, I would have chosen to work in another unit’ had a significant effect in increasing the emotional distress, and it may be related to occupational satisfaction. Lee et al 10 reported that occupational stress consists of four domains overwhelmed by heavy workloads, fear of infection, lifestyle changes, and psychological and physical struggles in a qualitative analysis after interviewing HCWs who directly or indirectly cared for patients during the COVID-19 epidemic. Regarding this, additional research is needed to identify the HCWs condition by as subdividing work stress domain and quantifying the work environment.…”

“…Specifically, HCWs are at a high risk of infection, and the fear of infection can pose a psychological burden. 10 Evidence suggests that frontline HCWs inevitably face tremendous psychological burden in an infectious disease environment, similar to severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS). 11 12 During recent Ebola outbreak, an unprecedented number of HCWs were infected, and survivors endured higher rates of post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD).…”