COVID-19 confessions: a qualitative exploration of healthcare workers experiences of working with COVID-19

Autor: Rachael Hunter, Paul Bennett, David Jones, S Noble, Stephen Johnston
Jazyk: angličtina
Rok vydání: 2020
Předmět:
Zdroj: BMJ Open, Vol 10, Iss 12 (2020)
Druh dokumentu: article
ISSN: 2020-0439
2044-6055
DOI: 10.1136/bmjopen-2020-043949
Popis: Objectives To gain insight into the experiences and concerns of front-line National Health Service (NHS) workers while caring for patients with COVID-19.Design Qualitative analysis of data collected through an anonymous website (www.covidconfidential) provided a repository of uncensored COVID-19 experiences of front-line NHS workers, accessed via a link advertised on the Twitter feed of two high profile medical tweeters and their retweets.Setting Community of NHS workers who accessed this social media.Participants 54 healthcare workers, including doctors, nurses and physiotherapists, accessed the website and left a ‘story’.Results Stories ranged from 1 word to 10 min in length. Thematic analysis identified common themes, with a central aspect being the experience and psychological consequence of trauma. Specific themes were: (1) the shock of the virus, (2) staff sacrifice and dedication, (3) collateral damage ranging from personal health concerns to the long-term impact on, and care of, discharged patients and (4) a hierarchy of power and inequality within the healthcare system.Conclusions COVID-19 confidential gave an outlet for unprompted and uncensored stories of healthcare workers in the context of COVID-19. In addition to personal experiences of trauma, there were perceptions that many operational difficulties stemmed from inequalities of power between management and front-line workers. Learning from these experiences will reduce staff distress and improve patient care in the face of further waves of the pandemic.
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