Understanding the work-related challenges of organ and tissue donation coordinators during the COVID-19 pandemic: a mixed-method study.

OBJECTIVES

This study aimed to explore the perceptions of donation coordinators in Canada and understand how the COVID-19 pandemic impacted their work activities.

DESIGN

A sequential mixed-method design incorporating a cross-sectional survey investigating demographic data, substance use and abuse and perceived stress related to the pandemic and semistructured qualitative interviews to further investigate those.

SETTING

Organ donation organisations across Canada.

PARTICIPANTS

Canadian organ and tissue donation coordinators working within deceased donation programmes. Participants were recruited using a purposive sampling technique for the survey and qualitative interviews. Recruitment and data collection took place between January 2022 and March 2023.

ANALYSIS

The data were analysed using descriptive statistics for the quantitative findings and content analysis for the qualitative data.

RESULTS

Of the 175 available coordinators, 120 participated in the survey, and 39 participated in the qualitative interviews. The great majority were female (n=98; 81.7%), registered nurses (n=117; 97.5%) and on average 42 years old (SD=9.64). The survey result for perceived stress showed that, on average, coordinators did not experience high stress levels during the pandemic. We also identified an increase in the consumption of substances to manage workplace stress near the pandemic's beginning. The qualitative interviews yielded two main themes (Personal Life Changes and Workplace Adjustments) in which coordinators reported their views on challenges with uncertainties, effects on their personal lives, redeployment, stressors and among others.

CONCLUSION

Our study's results provide a comprehensive understanding of the perceptions and experiences of coordinators in Canada during the COVID-19 pandemic. Using a combination of methods, we identified various ways coordinators were affected by the pandemic in their personal and professional lives. These findings highlight the need to support the development of adaptive strategies and promote resilience during crises.