• Mehrdad Eftekhar Ardebili, Morteza Naserbakht, Colleen Bernstein, Farshid Alazmani-Noodeh, Hamideh Hakimi, and Hadi Ranjbar.
• Mental Health Research Center, Psychosocial Health Research Institute, Iran University of Medical Science, Tehran, Iran. Electronic address: eftekharardebili.m@iums.ac.ir.
• Am J Infect Control. 2021 May 1; 49 (5): 547-554.

BackgroundThe COVID-19 pandemic has had a far-reaching negative impact on healthcare systems worldwide and has placed healthcare providers under immense physiological and psychological pressures.ObjectiveThe aim of current study was to undertake an in-depth exploration of the experiences of health-care staff working during the COVID-19 crisis.MethodsUsing a thematic analysis approach, a qualitative study was conducted using semi-structured interviews with 97 health care professionals. Participants were health care professionals including pre-hospital emergency services (EMS), physicians, nurses, pharmacists, laboratory personnel, radiology technicians, hospital managers and managers in the ministry of health who work directly or indirectly with COVID-19 cases.ResultsData analysis highlighted four main themes, namely: 'Working in the pandemic era', 'Changes in personal life and enhanced negative affect', 'Gaining experience, normalization and adaptation to the pandemic' and 'Mental Health Considerations' which indicated that mental ill deteriorations unfolded through a stage-wise process as the pandemic unfolded.ConclusionsParticipants experienced a wide range of emotions and development during the unfolding of the pandemic. Providing mental health aid should thus be an essential part of services for healthcare providers during the pandemic. Based on our results the aid should be focused on the various stages and should be individual-centred. Such interventions are crucial to sustain workers in their ability to cope throughout the duration of the pandemic.Copyright © 2020 Association for Professionals in Infection Control and Epidemiology, Inc. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

23 keywords...

hide…