Zingela Zukiswa, van Wyk Stephan, Bronkhorst Aletta, Groves Carmenita
Executive Dean's Office, Nelson Mandela University, Gqeberha, South Africa.
Department of Psychiatry and Behavioural Sciences, Walter Sisulu University, Mthatha, South Africa.
S Afr J Psychiatr. 2022 Mar 10;28:1665. doi: 10.4102/sajpsychiatry.v28i0.1665. eCollection 2022.
The coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) outbreak caused worldwide disruptions to healthcare systems. The emerging evidence indicates that mental health problems have consequently become an occupational hazard in frontline healthcare workers.
We aimed to develop a psychological preparedness training (PPT) programme to support frontline health workers in three resource-limited hospitals in South Africa dealing with the COVID-19 outbreak and to evaluate its effectiveness using an audit tool. We established a theoretical framework and goals for a psychological preparedness programme to support healthcare workers at the study sites.
Data were collected at the Dora Nginza Hospital, Nelson Mandela Academic Hospital and Elizabeth Donkin Hospital.
We employed an observational, descriptive, and cross-sectional design. A group psychological intervention was developed and implemented at the three sites in South Africa, from mid-April 2020 over 20 weeks. We collected data using an audit tool to measure healthcare workers' perceptions of the outbreak before and after the intervention. We analysed the data to test for a statistically significant difference between the pre-intervention and post-intervention audit tools.
We supported 761 healthcare workers during the 20 weeks of the programme. Statistical analysis showed a significant positive change from pre- to post-intervention measures in perceptions of health worker about the outbreak, their anxiety associated with the outbreak, their ability to control reactions to stress and the perception of their ability to support others. Feedback comments indicated that the programme was beneficial for the majority of those who attended.
Health workers who attended the programme reported improvement in stress levels and in perceptions about their ability to cope with the outbreak, as well as in their perceptions of being able to support others.
2019年冠状病毒病（COVID-19）疫情给全球医疗系统带来了混乱。新出现的证据表明，心理健康问题因此已成为一线医护人员的职业危害。
我们旨在制定一项心理准备培训（PPT）计划，以支持南非三家资源有限的医院中应对COVID-19疫情的一线医护人员，并使用一种审计工具评估其有效性。我们为支持研究地点的医护人员的心理准备计划建立了一个理论框架和目标。
数据在多拉·恩金扎医院、纳尔逊·曼德拉学术医院和伊丽莎白·唐金医院收集。
我们采用了观察性、描述性和横断面设计。2020年4月中旬起的20周内，在南非的三个地点开展并实施了一项团体心理干预。我们使用一种审计工具收集数据，以衡量干预前后医护人员对疫情的认知。我们分析数据以检验干预前和干预后审计工具之间是否存在统计学上的显著差异。
在该计划的20周内，我们为761名医护人员提供了支持。统计分析表明，从干预前到干预后，医护人员对疫情的认知、与疫情相关的焦虑、控制压力反应的能力以及对自身支持他人能力的认知均有显著的积极变化。反馈意见表明，该计划对大多数参与者有益。
参加该计划的医护人员报告称，他们的压力水平有所改善，应对疫情的能力以及支持他人的能力的认知也有所改善。
