Psychological distress among Iranian health-care providers exposed to coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19): a qualitative study

Abstract

Background Novel corona virus, named COVID-19, has spread rapidly to other countries like Italy, Iran and South Korea and affected all people, especially health-care providers. Therefore, due to the rapid spread of the disease in Iran, the aim of the present study was to explore psychological distress experienced by Iranian health-care providers in the first few weeks of the corona virus outbreak. Methods The present qualitative study was conducted on 18 Iranian health-care providers exposed to COVID − 19 using a content analysis method. Purposeful sampling was used to select the participants and continued until data saturation was reached. Data were collected using semi-structured interviews and then the qualitative data were analyzed through direct content analysis. Results By analyzing 236 primary codes, two main categories were extracted from the experiences of health-care providers during corona virus outbreak. The first category included Occupational demands with three sub-categories: nature of illness, Organizational demands and social demands. The second category was Supportive resources included personal support and social support. Conclusions The results of this study found that there were some barriers and challenges to medical personnel exposed to COVID-19 that caused psychological distress. Some of these problems related to the nature of illness, others related to social and organizational demands and some of supportive resources buffer the relationship between occupational demands and psychological distress.

Sources of Health Anxiety for Hospital Staff Working during the Covid-19 Pandemic

“…Fifth and similarly, future interventional studies should investigate what workplace-related preventive measures can reduce health fears among hospital staff involved in the treatment of patients with COVID-19. To take one example, there is evidence that frontline nurses appreciate supportive resources and social support [ 39 ]. Furthermore, among 599 healthcare practitioners working in eight different Iranian cities, quality of life was associated with higher social support [ 40 ].…”

Emotional Experience and Feelings during First COVID-19 Outbreak Perceived by Physical Therapists: A Qualitative Study in Madrid, Spain

“…Previous studies have also shown how healthcare professionals felt stigma, rejection, and even loneliness from their neighbors and social environment because of working in a hospital [ 28 , 36 , 38 ]. Our participants have not reported the presence of stigma in their family and social environments.…”

“…Previous studies have also reported that healthcare professionals did not receive professional psychological support from their workplace centers during the first months of the acute COVID-19 outbreak [ 36 , 37 , 38 ]. In Spain, Martínez-López et al reported that 90% of the healthcare professionals considered that psychological care should have been provided from their workplace centers [ 33 ].…”

“…Additionally, personal resources for reducing distress during the pandemic such as problem-oriented coping, favorite personal things, compassion satisfaction (empathy with the patient, joy of improving patients’ health, interest in people, and commitment to the patient), spirituality (strong faith, hope God’s grace and pray), personality traits (high self-confidence, challenging interest, realism, sense of humor, adaptability, hope, courage, strong thinking, adherence to ethics, relax, and flexibility), and social support are strategies used by healthcare professionals [ 38 ]. Finally, having the necessary physical sources for their protection and to update regular and accurate information is also essential for avoiding feelings of fear and uncertainty within the health professionals.…”

Harnessing the Neurobiology of Resilience to Protect the Mental Well-Being of Healthcare Workers During the COVID-19 Pandemic

“…On the other hand, overcrowding, isolation, social defeat, and “social instability” (alternating crowding and isolation) can result in increases in endocrine and behavioral responses to stress in rodent models, an effect which may be partially mediated by the neuropeptide CRH ( Beery and Kaufer, 2015 ) or altered immune functioning ( Page et al, 2014 ). There is evidence that social support is inversely associated with psychological distress in healthcare workers during the COVID-19 pandemic ( Alizadeh et al, 2020 ; Nowicki et al, 2020 ). In this context, ensuring adequate opportunities for socialization with colleagues, family members, and friends, while adhering to appropriate infection control guidelines, can help in fostering resilience in healthcare workers at the individual and team level, as can attempts to minimize the stigmatization faced by these personnel ( Taylor et al, 2020a ).…”