Zhang Siyuan, Gu Xiuzhu
Department of Industrial Engineering and Economics, Institute of Science Tokyo, Meguro-ku, Tokyo, Japan.
Department of Industrial Engineering and Economics, Institute of Science Tokyo, Meguro-ku, Tokyo, Japan
BMJ Lead. 2024 Dec 14. doi: 10.1136/leader-2024-001041.
Since the outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic, healthcare workers (HCWs) have faced multiple difficulties in their work and personal lives. However, most of the quantitative reviews have focused on the extent of the pandemic's impact on the HCWs and have thus failed to fully capture the HCWs' experiences and the complexity of the problems they encountered. Therefore, this qualitative systematic review elucidates the HCWs' challenges brought about by the pandemic, their perceptions of the existing support and the support that require further attention.
The literature search spanned five databases: Scopus, PubMed, Web of Science, CINAHL and PsycInfo, targeting qualitative studies of HCWs' pandemic experiences from December 2019 to December 2023. These studies underwent strict quality and relevance assessment, emphasising critical appraisal and selection. Findings were unified through meta-synthesis, adhering to the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses guidelines. The study was registered in PROSPERO.
This study analysed 29 qualitative studies on HCWs' experiences during the pandemic and their perceptions of support, identifying four themes of HCWs' physical and mental well-being, the impact of the pandemic on their professional and personal lives, their work environments and the support they received. These themes encompassed 8 main categories and 25 codes. The research revealed that the pandemic and work conditions negatively influenced their health, affecting their professional and personal lives. Current support has lessened the pandemic's effects on HCWs but should also address future requirements like long-term psychological support.
The studies identified the challenges faced by HCWs during the pandemic, and the existing support. However, due to the complex interactions between the work and environmental factors, the effectiveness of the existing support remains challenging. To improve their effectiveness, the future support should target the interactions between the HCWs and the work system.
CRD42023426238.
自新冠疫情爆发以来，医护人员在工作和个人生活中面临诸多困难。然而，大多数定量综述都聚焦于疫情对医护人员的影响程度，因此未能充分捕捉医护人员的经历以及他们所遇到问题的复杂性。因此，本定性系统综述阐明了疫情给医护人员带来的挑战、他们对现有支持的看法以及需要进一步关注的支持。
文献检索涵盖五个数据库：Scopus、PubMed、科学网、护理学与健康领域数据库（CINAHL）和心理学文摘数据库（PsycInfo），目标是2019年12月至2023年12月期间关于医护人员疫情经历的定性研究。这些研究经过严格的质量和相关性评估，重点是批判性评价和筛选。研究结果通过元综合进行统一，遵循系统评价和元分析的首选报告项目指南。该研究已在国际前瞻性注册系统（PROSPERO）注册。
本研究分析了29项关于医护人员疫情期间经历及其对支持看法的定性研究，确定了医护人员身心健康、疫情对其职业和个人生活的影响、工作环境以及他们获得的支持这四个主题。这些主题包括8个主要类别和25个编码。研究表明，疫情和工作条件对他们的健康产生了负面影响，影响了他们的职业和个人生活。目前的支持减轻了疫情对医护人员的影响，但也应满足未来的需求，如长期心理支持。
这些研究确定了医护人员在疫情期间面临的挑战以及现有的支持。然而，由于工作和环境因素之间复杂的相互作用，现有支持的有效性仍然具有挑战性。为提高其有效性，未来的支持应针对医护人员与工作系统之间的相互作用。
国际前瞻性注册系统（PROSPERO）注册号：CRD42023426238。
