Stress and Resilience Among Healthcare Workers During the COVID-19 Pandemic

Abstract

The COVID-19 pandemic has caused a significant increase in stress for frontline healthcare workers, including rehabilitation workers. Contributing factors include disrupted workflows, heavier workloads, increased time restraints, and fear of contracting/passing the virus. Prolonged high stress levels can produce adverse health outcomes when unaddressed. Resilience can mitigate the negative effects of prolonged stress. Four healthcare workers relate their experiences from the frontlines of the pandemic, discussing their strategies to build resilience and maintain health. Highlighted strategies include mindfulness (the purposeful act of paying attention to the present moment without judgment), gratitude (the practice of being grateful for the positive things in life), self-care (the maintenance of a healthy lifestyle using physical, psychological, and emotional tools), and social support (the sense of belonging that comes from being cared for and valued). These strategies reduce negative outcomes produced by elevated stress levels and promote resilience in frontline healthcare workers.

Lived Experiences of Female Nurses with COVID-19 Deaths on Their Watch

“…The valuing of life and family observed among the participants supports four previously reported case studies of nurses who practiced gratitude toward the positive things in life that assist them in conquering obstacles and developing their resilience [71]. This phenomenon has also been observed among patients who have recovered from COVID-19 [72].…”

The lived experiences of emergency care personnel in the Western Cape, South Africa during the COVID-19 pandemic: A longitudinal hermeneutic phenomenological study

“…[ 45 ] The “PRISM at work” programme followed a skills-based coaching design that covered the science of resilience, stress management, goal setting, cognitive reframing, meaning making, and coming together and moving forward in 1-hourly sessions over a 6-week period. These results echoed other resilience studies conducted amongst HCWs, [ 46 , [48] , [49] , [50] ] highlighting the importance of resilience training as part of support structures and response preparedness during a pandemic. Importantly though, it is our belief that resilience training should be embedded in everyday HCW training and not only be initiated during times when the healthcare system may be under strain from shocks such as pandemics or disasters.…”

Health workers' motivation to work in a COVID-19 designated hospital during COVID-19 pandemic

“…They are Mindfulness (paying attention to the present moment without judgment), gratitude (expressing gratitude for the good things in life), self-care (maintaining a healthy lifestyle using physical, psychological, and emotional tools) and social support (the sense of belonging that comes from being cared for and valued). 22 So, recognizing these motivating and demotivating factors, addressing them and providing coping mechanisms can mitigate the issue of burnout and frustration during the workload in pandemic.…”