Howe Aaron S, Jules Kevon, Tan Jeremy Kcd, Khan Raabia, Li Anson Kc, Edwards Brydne, King Emily C, Nizzer Sonia, Gohar Basem, Yazdani Amin, Bani-Fatemi Ali-, Chattu Vijay Kumar, Sinclair Lindsay, Kay Mhairi, Nowrouzi-Kia Behdin
Restore Lab, Department of Occupational Science and Occupational Therapy, Temerty Faculty of Medicine, University of Toronto, Toronto, Ontario, Canada.
Department of Occupational Science and Occupational Therapy, Temerty Faculty of Medicine, University of Toronto, Toronto, Ontario, Canada.
Home Health Care Manag Pract. 2024 Aug;36(3):230-242. doi: 10.1177/10848223231225246. Epub 2024 Jan 30.
Home care rehabilitation professionals (hcRPs) provide health services for clients with a broad range of medical conditions. During the COVID-19 pandemic, home care rehabilitation professionals experienced exacerbations of pre-existing work-related stressors, increased risk of transmission of the COVID-19 virus, reduced resource availability, greater workloads, and staffing shortages. The primary aim of this study was to examine the experience and impact of occupational and mental stress on hcRPs working during the COVID-19 pandemic. Semi-structured interviews were conducted with 24 hcRPs working in Ontario, Canada during the COVID-19 pandemic. Inductive thematic analysis was used to interpret and organize the data into conceptualized themes. Interview data was organized into three themes: (a) unique challenges of a home care rehabilitation professional, (b) COVID-19 exacerbations of home care occupational and mental stress, and (c) personal and workplace coping strategies. Many participants reported reducing their hours or taking on adjunctive roles in different clinical settings outside of home care due to work-related stress exacerbated by the COVID-19 pandemic. With a focus on the effects of COVID-19 on the practice of home care, this study provides a unique perspective on the challenges experienced by hcRPs during an emergent and evolving global public health concern. The exploratory nature of this research works towards providing a framework of factors to be addressed when creating sustainable healthcare interventions, as well as recommendations to support hcRPs to benefit both the community and health-care providers.
居家护理康复专业人员（hcRPs）为患有多种医疗状况的客户提供健康服务。在新冠疫情期间，居家护理康复专业人员面临着原有与工作相关压力源的加剧、感染新冠病毒的风险增加、资源可用性降低、工作量加大以及人员短缺等问题。本研究的主要目的是考察职业压力和精神压力对在新冠疫情期间工作的居家护理康复专业人员的影响及他们的经历。对在加拿大安大略省工作的24名新冠疫情期间的居家护理康复专业人员进行了半结构化访谈。采用归纳主题分析法对数据进行解读并将其组织成概念化主题。访谈数据被归纳为三个主题：（a）居家护理康复专业人员面临的独特挑战；（b）新冠疫情加剧的居家护理职业压力和精神压力；（c）个人及工作场所的应对策略。许多参与者报告称，由于新冠疫情加剧了与工作相关的压力，他们减少了工作时长，或在居家护理以外的不同临床环境中担任辅助角色。本研究聚焦于新冠疫情对居家护理实践的影响，为居家护理康复专业人员在这一突发且不断演变的全球公共卫生问题期间所面临的挑战提供了独特视角。本研究的探索性质有助于提供一个框架，以明确在制定可持续医疗干预措施时需要考虑的因素，同时提出相关建议以支持居家护理康复专业人员能够使社区和医疗服务提供者都受益。
