Healthcare providers on the frontlines: a qualitative investigation of the social and emotional impact of delivering health services during Sierra Leone’s Ebola epidemic | Shannon A. McMahon,Lara S. Ho, Hannah Brown,Laura Miller, Rashid Ansumana and Caitlin E. Kennedy
This article examines the social and emotional experiences of frontline providers (those not working in Ebola-specific treatment facilities) as they became de facto first responders in Sierra Leone’s Ebola outbreak.
Frontline healthcare workers described how Ebola weakened a sense of trust within and across health facilities, providers, communities and households. Along with changes in their professional lives, communities and homes, providers described a profound sense of stigmatization, suffering, loneliness, isolation and sadness since the onset of Ebola.
To mitigate psychiatric morbidities and maladaptive coping mechanisms, health systems must consider how to enhance mental health and psychosocial support for not only providers working in designated Ebola treatment and care facilities but also those working in facilities that are not specifically for Ebola management.
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COVID-19 in Africa: care and protection for frontline healthcare workers | Matthew F. Chersich , Glenda Gray, Lee Fairlie, Quentin Eichbaum, Susannah Mayhew, Brian Allwood, Rene English, Fiona Scorgie, Stanley Luchters, Greg Simpson, Marjan Mosalman Haghighi, Minh Duc Pham and Helen Rees
Sustaining safe and quality care in the SARS-CoV-2 pandemic hinges on the health and mental wellbeing of frontline healthcare workers. Medical staff face exhaustion, difficult triage decisions, separation from families, stigma and the pain of losing patients and colleagues, in addition to their own risks of infection.
In this literature review, the authors describe the infection risks and mental health challenges that healthcare workers face in the COVID-19 pandemic and propose interventions to counter these in Africa. Lessons from previous disease-control efforts on the continent are highlighted and draw on experiences with SARS-CoV-2 in other parts of the world. Ten priority interventions to safeguard frontline healthcare workers in Africa were recommended in response to the review, recognizing that the degree to which the health and mental wellbeing of frontline healthcare workers are protected will shape the pandemic in Africa, and thus its long-run impacts on social stability, economic growth, and security.
Supporting the Mental Health of Health Workers during COVID-19 | Ngoc Nguyen and Hien Tran, Public and Community Engagement Unit, Oxford University Clinical Research Unit
Acknowledging the impacts of the challenging context of COVID-19 for health workers, this online workshop, facilitated by the Oxford Clinical Research Unit Vietnam (Healthcare Engagement Programme), the Centre for Healthcare Improvement Research (CHIR), and Wake up schools International on 5th April 2020, explored some of the experiences of health care workers in Vietnam and discussed strategies to support their mental health and wellbeing. The online workshop provided a forum for discussions and sharing of issues of fear and isolation related to their profession, the impact on workloads and stress levels, and shared strategies as to how to balance these pressures and support their own mental health and wellbeing. The workshop included an interactive mindfulness session.
Levels of burn-out among healthcare workers during the COVID-19 pandemic and their associated factors: a cross-sectional study in a tertiary hospital of a highly burdened area of north-east Italy l Lasalvia A, Amaddeo F, Porru S, et al
Since the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic, healthcare workers have been under heavy workload conditions worldwide. Limited resources, longer shifts, disruptions to sleep and work–life balance, and occupa- tional hazards associated with exposure to patients with COVID-19 have contributed to adverse psychological outcomes among healthcare workers in terms of post-traumatic stress, insomnia, anxiety and depression. This study explored burn-out levels and associated factors among healthcare personnel working in a tertiary hospital of a highly burdened area of north-east Italy during the COVID-19 pandemic.