Psychological Distress in South African Healthcare Workers Early in the COVID-19 Pandemic: An Analysis of Associations and Mitigating Factors

Lee, Hsin-Ling; Wilson, Kerry; Bernstein, Colleen; Naicker, Nisha; Yassi, Annalee; Spiegel, Jerry

doi:10.3390/ijerph19159722

Cited by 20 publications

(18 citation statements)

References 75 publications

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“…Our findings imply that those PTs who always (60.9%) and usually (28.1%) wear N-95 masks and adopt proper hand washing techniques (>80%) were prone to less stress than others. A recent study in South Africa supported our observation and reported that HCWs showing poor compliance with recommended protective practices concerning COVID-19 (i.e., wearing an N95 gown or apron) experienced psychological distress [40]. Moreover, the availability of PPEs in the hospital and HCPs' knowledge about its utility directly impact their proneness to job stress [41,42].…”

Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 85%

Factors affecting job stress among physical therapists during the COVID-19 pandemic in Saudi Arabia

Subbarayalu

2023

ELECTRON J GEN MED

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Background: Physical therapists (PTs), like other healthcare professionals, are susceptible to job stress when involved in patient care, and several factors contribute to it. Therefore, this study aims to assess PTs’ knowledge, attitude, and practices (KAP) adopted by PTs during the COVID-19 pandemic and its impact on their job stress. Methods: A cross-sectional design was used. 300 PTs from the government and private healthcare organizations in Saudi Arabia were randomly picked and invited to participate. Data were collected using a pre-tested content-validated KAP tool using a Google Form between January and March 2022. Data were analyzed quantitively through SPSS 24.0. Results: The findings revealed that 85% of PTs whose job involves direct contact with the patients are susceptible to higher stress (perceived stress score [PSS]=22.82) than others. Specifically, female and unmarried PTs are prone to more job stress than others (p<0.05). In addition, PTs who were apprehensive about managing COVID-19 patients and worried about acquiring COVID-19 disease are prone to more job stress. Lastly, 89% of PTs who adopted the practice of wearing N-95 masks and proper handwashing techniques (>80%) experience less stress than others (p<0.05). Conclusion: The KAP of PTs influences job stress during the COVID-19 pandemic. PTs with sufficient knowledge about measures to adopt, show a positive attitude, and practice wearing proper PPEs, handwashing procedures, and waste disposal systems during patient care are prone to less job stress than others.

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Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 85%

Factors affecting job stress among physical therapists during the COVID-19 pandemic in Saudi Arabia

Subbarayalu

2023

ELECTRON J GEN MED

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“…Our findings suggest a need to proactively identify the support needed and provide training to help build HCWs' self-efficacy when treating a virus or disease where little is known about the prognosis. A study conducted by Lee, Wilson [27] found that HCWs who received training for COVID-19 and infection control and emergency procedures had less psychological distress than those who had not received similar training.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“I Carry the Trauma and Can Vividly Remember”: Mental Health Impacts of the COVID-19 Pandemic on Frontline Health Care Workers in South Africa

Mahlangu

Sikweyiya

Gibbs

et al. 2023

IJERPH

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We know from research that pandemics and disease outbreaks expose HCWs to an increased risk of short and long-term psychosocial and occupational impacts. We conducted qualitative research among 44 frontline health care workers (FHCWs) practicing in seven South African hospitals and clinics. FHCWs were interviewed on their experiences of working during the first-wave of the COVID-19 pandemic and its perceived impact on their wellness. In this study, FHCWs included the non-medical and medical professionals in direct contact with COVID-19 patients, providing health care and treatment services during the COVID-19 pandemic. Most of the FHCWs reported stressful and traumatic experiences relating to being exposed to a deadly virus and working in an emotionally taxing environment. They reported depression, anxiety, traumatic stress symptoms, demoralization, sleep difficulties, poor functioning, increased irritability and fear of being infected or dying from COVID-19. The mental health impacts of COVID-19 on HCWs were also associated with increased poor physical wellbeing, including fatigue, burnout, headache, and chest-pains. FHCWs reported professional commitment and their faith as critical intrinsic motivators that fostered adaptive coping while working on the frontline during the first-wave of the COVID-19 pandemic. Many alluded to gaps in workplace psychosocial support which they perceived as crucial for coping mentally. The findings point to a need to prioritize interventions to promote mental wellness among FHCWs to ensure the delivery of quality healthcare to patients during pandemics or deadly disease outbreaks.

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“…Context: Aiming to gain insight on determinants of mental stress of HCWs during the pandemic, this study also analyzed the relationships between HCW knowledge, attitudes, perceptions and behaviour (28).…”

Section: Study 6: Mental Health Studymentioning

confidence: 99%

Protecting healthcare workers during a pandemic: what can a WHO collaborating centre research partnership contribute?

Spiegel

Zungu

Yassi

et al. 2023

Revista Panamericana De Salud Pública

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Objectives. To ascertain whether and how working as a partnership of two World Health Organization collaborating centres (WHOCCs), based respectively in the Global North and Global South, can add insights on “what works to protect healthcare workers (HCWs) during a pandemic, in what contexts, using what mechanism, to achieve what outcome”. Methods. A realist synthesis of seven projects in this research program was carried out to characterize context (C) (including researcher positionality), mechanism (M) (including service relationships) and outcome (O) in each project. An assessment was then conducted of the role of the WHOCC partnership in each study and overall. Results. The research found that lower-resourced countries with higher economic disparity, including South Africa, incurred greater occupational health risk and had less acceptable measures to protect HCWs at the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic than higher-income more-equal counterpart countries. It showed that rigorously adopting occupational health measures can indeed protect the healthcare workforce; training and preventive initiatives can reduce workplace stress; information systems are valued; and HCWs most at-risk (including care aides in the Canadian setting) can be readily identified to trigger adoption of protective actions. The C-M-O analysis showed that various ways of working through a WHOCC partnership not only enabled knowledge sharing, but allowed for triangulating results and, ultimately, initiatives for worker protection. Conclusions. The value of an international partnership on a North-South axis especially lies in providing contextualized global evidence regarding protecting HCWs as a pandemic emerges, particularly with bi-directional cross-jurisdiction participation by researchers working with practitioners.

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Psychological Distress in South African Healthcare Workers Early in the COVID-19 Pandemic: An Analysis of Associations and Mitigating Factors

Cited by 20 publications

References 75 publications

Factors affecting job stress among physical therapists during the COVID-19 pandemic in Saudi Arabia

Factors affecting job stress among physical therapists during the COVID-19 pandemic in Saudi Arabia

“I Carry the Trauma and Can Vividly Remember”: Mental Health Impacts of the COVID-19 Pandemic on Frontline Health Care Workers in South Africa

Protecting healthcare workers during a pandemic: what can a WHO collaborating centre research partnership contribute?

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