Zee Masha S, Philipsen Bregje D Onwuteaka, Witkamp Erica, Becqué Yvonne N, Goossensen Anne, Pasman H Roeline
Department of Public and Occupational Health, Expertise Center for Palliative Care, Amsterdam UMC, VU University, Van Der Boechorststraat 7, Amsterdam, 1081 BT, The Netherlands.
Department of Public Health, Erasmus MC University Medical Center, Rotterdam, The Netherlands.
BMC Health Serv Res. 2024 Dec 18;24(1):1613. doi: 10.1186/s12913-024-11999-6.
The healthcare sector is facing increasing work pressure, making a healthy workforce essential. Appreciation is a factor influencing well-being, and the COVID-19 pandemic offers valuable insights into this. This study aims to: 1) describe to what extent end-of-life care providers felt appreciated and understood during the first 18 months of the pandemic, 2) examine the impact of appreciation on their well-being, and 3) explore their perceptions of what appreciation should look like.
A longitudinal mixed methods study among healthcare providers in the Netherlands delivering end-of-life care during the COVID-19 pandemic. Surveys were conducted at four timepoints (n = 302), and interviews were conducted at three timepoints (n = 17) during the first 18 months of the pandemic. Generalized Estimating Equations analysis was performed on the quantitative data and thematic analysis was conducted on the interview data.
This study shows that feeling of appreciation among healthcare providers peaked in the first wave of the pandemic, but significantly dropped in the second wave, with only about half of the healthcare providers feeling appreciated. This slightly improved afterwards. Furthermore, nearly half of healthcare providers felt misunderstood during the first 18 months of the pandemic. Additionally, this study shows that between September 2020 and September 2021 about 1 in 3 healthcare providers had a score on the Well-Being Index indicating higher risk for burnout. Feeling appreciated and not feeling understood were both significantly associated with worse well-being. Interviews revealed that nurses did not always feel understood and appreciated by society, employers, patients and their families, as well as their own friends and family, leading to feelings of sadness, anger, and frustration. Three major themes emerged: 'recognizing real needs, 'we are not in this together' and 'short-lived appreciation that failed to lead to structural changes'.
This study shows that during the COVID-19 pandemic, healthcare providers often felt neither appreciated nor understood, which is associated with lower scores of well-being. The expressed appreciation often did meet their needs or expectations, from both employers and society. With healthcare provider well-being still under strain, sustained attention to appreciation and understanding is important for retaining the workforce.
医疗保健部门面临着日益增加的工作压力，因此拥有一支健康的员工队伍至关重要。感激之情是影响幸福感的一个因素，而新冠疫情为这方面提供了宝贵的见解。本研究旨在：1）描述在疫情的前18个月里，临终关怀提供者感到被感激和理解的程度；2）研究感激之情对他们幸福感的影响；3）探究他们对感激之情应有的表现形式的看法。
对荷兰在新冠疫情期间提供临终关怀的医疗保健提供者进行一项纵向混合方法研究。在疫情的前18个月里，在四个时间点进行了调查（n = 302），并在三个时间点进行了访谈（n = 17）。对定量数据进行广义估计方程分析，对访谈数据进行主题分析。
本研究表明，医疗保健提供者的感激之情在疫情的第一波中达到峰值，但在第二波中显著下降，只有约一半的医疗保健提供者感到被感激。此后略有改善。此外，近一半的医疗保健提供者在疫情的前18个月里感到被误解。此外，本研究表明，在2020年9月至2021年9月期间，约三分之一的医疗保健提供者在幸福感指数上的得分表明有更高的倦怠风险。感到被感激和不被理解都与较差的幸福感显著相关。访谈显示，护士并不总是感到被社会、雇主、患者及其家人以及他们自己的朋友和家人理解和感激，这导致了悲伤、愤怒和沮丧的情绪。出现了三个主要主题：“认识到真正的需求”、“我们并非同舟共济”以及“短暂的感激未能导致结构性变化”。
本研究表明，在新冠疫情期间，医疗保健提供者常常既没有感到被感激也没有感到被理解，这与较低的幸福感得分相关。雇主和社会所表达的感激往往并未满足他们的需求或期望。由于医疗保健提供者的幸福感仍然面临压力，持续关注感激和理解对于留住员工队伍很重要。
