Absenteeism of Frontline Healthcare Workers During Covid-19: the Need for a Framework of Support

Tujjar, Omar; Simonelli, Martina

doi:10.1007/s42399-020-00609-1

Cited by 13 publications

(14 citation statements)

References 4 publications

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“…Redeployment of staff without specific training may lead to absenteeism, especially once the crisis is over. 31 Therefore, it is even more important that redeployment is based on voluntary decision. 32 To tackle the problem of nurses not having diverse backgrounds, experiences and skills, one Chinese hospital implemented standardised nursing procedures for work routines and content.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…We also found that some qualified nurses without professional infectious disease background or training were recruited from other wards to remedy staff shortages. Redeployment of staff without specific training may lead to absenteeism, especially once the crisis is over 31. Therefore, it is even more important that redeployment is based on voluntary decision 32.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Occupational challenges of healthcare workers during the COVID-19 pandemic: a qualitative study

Jeleff

Traugott²,

Jirovsky-Platter

et al. 2022

BMJ Open

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ObjectivesTo address structural determinants and healthcare workers’ (HCWs) physical, mental, emotional and professional challenges of working during the COVID-19 pandemic.DesignExploratory qualitative study with semistructured interviews. Collected data were analysed using thematic analysis.SettingThis qualitative study was undertaken with HCWs who mainly worked in intensive care units in six non-profit hospitals in Vienna, Austria. Data were collected from June 2020 to January 2021.ParticipantsA total of 30 HCWs (13 medical doctors, 11 qualified nursing staff, 2 nurse assistants, 2 physiotherapists and 2 technical/cleaning staff) who were in direct and indirect contact with patients with COVID-19 were included.ResultsThree overall themes resulted as relevant: challenges due to lack of preparedness, structural conditions, and physical and mental health of HCWs. Lack of preparedness included delayed infection prevention and control (IPC) guidelines, shortages of personal protective equipment combined with staff shortages (especially of nursing staff) and overworked personnel. Physical and mental strains resulted from HCWs being overworked and working permanently on alert to face medical uncertainties and the critical conditions of patients. HCWs lacked recognition on multiple levels and dealt with stigma and avoidance behaviour of colleagues.ConclusionTo mitigate HCWs’ occupational health risks and staff turnover, we propose context-specific recommendations. The number of available essential workers in care of patients with COVID-19, especially nursing staff, should be carefully planned and increased to avert chronic work overload. Timely training and education in IPC for all HCWs is important. Providing supportive supervision is as essential as appropriate recognition by higher level management and the public.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Occupational challenges of healthcare workers during the COVID-19 pandemic: a qualitative study

Jeleff

Traugott²,

Jirovsky-Platter

et al. 2022

BMJ Open

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show abstract

“…Second, the survey was conducted at a single institution without a clearly defined probabilistic population sample along with a low response rate may limit generalisability of our results. However, psychosocial stress contributing to staff absenteeism 21 and hospital outbreak associated furlough of over 700 HCW may have underestimated the respective response rates of 40% (efferent) and 15% (afferent). Third and inherent to any survey, there may be selection bias in respondent sampling.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

‘Code‐95’ rapid response calls for patients under airborne precautions in the COVID‐19‐era: a cross‐sectional survey of healthcare worker perceptions

Subramaniam

Zuberav

Wengritzky

et al. 2021

Internal Medicine Journal

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BackgroundTo allow better allocation of staff and resources, rapid response teams attending to acutely deteriorating or aggressive patients with suspected or confirmed COVID‐19 infection were pre‐warned with the announcement of 'Code‐95' with calls.AimTo assess healthcare worker (HCW) perspectives on pre‐warning rapid response calls (RRC) with ‘Code‐95’ in announcements when attending to deteriorating or aggressive patients with suspected/confirmed COVID‐19 infection.MethodsDesign: prospective cross‐sectional single‐centre survey of HCW over a 3‐week period. Setting: tertiary public hospital. Participants: HCW caring for deteriorating or aggressive patients. Main outcome measures: the primary outcome was to assess HCW perspectives in attending Code‐95 calls. Secondary outcomes were to identify any differences related to craft group, age, experience or presence of comorbidities.ResultsA total of 297 responses was analysed; 86.7% of HCW (n = 257) attending Code‐95 calls reported anxiety. Medical staff reported greater anxiety in comparison to nursing staff (93.8% vs 78.5%; P = 0.002). Efferent team reported higher anxiety in contrast to afferent team (92.6% vs 58.8%; P = 0.021). There was no significant difference in perceived anxiety based on age (≤40 vs >40 years of age), years of experience (≤5 vs >5 years), comorbidities or mental illness; 54% reported concerns about adequacy of infection‐control policies and personal protective equipment; 45% were worried about inadequate training for responding to Code‐95 calls.ConclusionsMost surveyed HCW supported Code‐95 announcements pre‐warning them of potential COVID‐19 exposure when attending a RRC. However, the majority of HCW reported anxiety when attending these calls. Medical and efferent team HCW perceived greater anxiety compared to nursing and afferent team HCW. The Code‐95 system to pre‐warn rapid response teams may be a useful addition to protecting HCW from infectious diseases, although broader implementation will require greater resourcing, training and support.

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“…Redeployment of staff without specific training may lead to absenteeism, especially once the crisis is over. 31 Therefore, it is even more important that redeployment is based on a voluntary decision. 26 To tackle the problem of nurses with diverse backgrounds, experiences and skills, a Chinese hospital implemented standardized nursing procedures for work routines and work content.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Occupational challenges of health care workers during the COVID-19 pandemic. A qualitative study

Jeleff

Traugott²,

Jirovsky-Platter

et al. 2021

Preprint

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Background The COVID-19 pandemic has placed a significant burden on health care systems worldwide with health care workers (HCWs) delivering care under unprecedented conditions. This study deals with HCWs' physical, mental, emotional and professional challenges of working during the COVID-19 pandemic and seeks to understand structural determinants of those challenges. Methods We carried out an exploratory qualitative study in public and private hospitals in Vienna, Austria. HCWs such as medical doctors, qualified nursing staff, nurse assistants, technical and cleaning staff in direct and indirect contact with COVID-19 patients were included. Collected data was analyzed using content analysis. Findings We conducted 30 semi-structured interviews in person and per phone from June 2020 to January 2021. Three overall themes resulted as relevant: challenges due to lack of preparedness, structural conditions, and physical and mental health of HCWs. Lack of preparedness included missing or delayed infection prevention and control (IPC) guidelines, shortages of personal protective equipment (PPE) combined with structural conditions such as staff shortages and overworked personnel. Physical and mental strains resulted from being overworked and working permanently on alert. Further, working in PPE, facing medical uncertainties and the critical conditions of patients were challenging factors. HCWs lacked recognition on multiple levels and dealt with social stigma and avoidance behavior of colleagues, especially in the beginning of the pandemic. Interpretation To mitigate HCWs' occupational health risks and staff turnover, we propose the following context-specific recommendations: Required medical personnel in care of COVID-19 patients, especially nursing staff, should be carefully planned and increased to avert chronic work overload. Intensive training and education in palliative care, as well as in IPC for all HCWs is important. Providing supportive supervision is as essential as appropriate recognition by higher level management and the public. Funding This article has received funding from The Vienna Science and Technology Fund (WWTF) COVID-19 Rapid Response Funding 2020. The funders did not play a role in the decision to publish the article.

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Absenteeism of Frontline Healthcare Workers During Covid-19: the Need for a Framework of Support

Cited by 13 publications

References 4 publications

Occupational challenges of healthcare workers during the COVID-19 pandemic: a qualitative study

Occupational challenges of healthcare workers during the COVID-19 pandemic: a qualitative study

‘Code‐95’ rapid response calls for patients under airborne precautions in the COVID‐19‐era: a cross‐sectional survey of healthcare worker perceptions

Occupational challenges of health care workers during the COVID-19 pandemic. A qualitative study

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