Clinical Care Research and Trials Unit, Dasman Diabetes Institute, Kuwait City, Kuwait.
Faculty of Medicine, Kuwait University, Kuwait City, Kuwait.
Front Public Health. 2023 Mar 30;11:1048283. doi: 10.3389/fpubh.2023.1048283. eCollection 2023.
The mental health and wellbeing of people watching the Corona Virus Disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic unfold has been discussed widely, with many experiencing feelings of anxiety and depression. The state of mental health of medical staff on the frontlines providing care should be examined; medical staff are overworked to meet the demands of providing care to the rise in cases and deterioration in capacity to meet demands, and this has put them under great psychological pressure. This may lead to an increase in medical errors, affect quality of care, and reduce staff retention rates. Understanding the impact the pandemic has had on healthcare professionals is needed to provide recommendations to prepare for future crises.
To be able to meet the needs of the medical workforce on the frontlines and inform psychological support interventions and strategies for future pandemics, we aim to identify and explore the psychological impact of COVID-19 in Kuwait on healthcare professionals in close contact with patients.
Using semi-structured interviews, we conducted interviews between February and July 2021 with 20 healthcare professionals across Ministry of Health hospitals who were part of COVID teams. Interviews were transcribed verbatim, and analysis was conducted using principles of thematic framework analysis.
Three themes emerged to help prepare future healthcare frontline workers on an individual, organizational, and national level: enhance self-resilience, a better-equipped workforce and healthcare environment, and mitigate stigma and increase public awareness.
The results have assisted in highlighting areas of improvement to support the healthcare workforce in the current environment, as well as better prepare them for future pandemics. The findings have also provided insight to recommend targeted interventions. These should improve the psychological wellbeing and help in supporting healthcare professionals to reduce burnout, continue effective care of patients, and enhance resilience.
人们广泛讨论了观看 2019 年冠状病毒病（COVID-19）大流行展开的心理健康和福祉，许多人感到焦虑和抑郁。应该检查在前线提供护理的医务人员的心理健康状况；医务人员为满足病例增加和满足需求能力下降而提供护理的需求而过度劳累，这给他们带来了巨大的心理压力。这可能导致医疗失误增加，影响护理质量，并降低员工保留率。了解大流行对医疗保健专业人员的影响对于提出建议以准备未来的危机是必要的。
为了满足前线医务人员的需求，并为未来的大流行提供心理支持干预和策略，我们旨在确定和探讨 COVID-19 在科威特对与患者密切接触的医疗保健专业人员的心理影响。
我们在 2021 年 2 月至 7 月期间使用半结构化访谈，对卫生部医院的 20 名 COVID 团队中的医疗保健专业人员进行了访谈。访谈逐字记录，并使用主题框架分析原则进行了分析。
为了在个人、组织和国家层面上帮助未来的医疗保健前线工作人员做好准备，出现了三个主题：增强自我恢复力、装备更好的劳动力和医疗保健环境、减轻耻辱感和提高公众意识。
研究结果有助于突出改进领域，以在当前环境中支持医疗保健人员，并为未来的大流行更好地做好准备。调查结果还为推荐有针对性的干预措施提供了见解。这些措施应改善心理健康，并有助于支持医疗保健专业人员减少倦怠，继续为患者提供有效护理，并增强韧性。
