A longitudinal qualitative exploration of victorian healthcare workers' and organisations' evolving views and experiences during COVID-19.


Journal

BMC health services research
ISSN: 1472-6963
Titre abrégé: BMC Health Serv Res
Pays: England
ID NLM: 101088677

Informations de publication

Date de publication:
07 May 2024
Historique:
received: 01 02 2024
accepted: 30 04 2024
medline: 8 5 2024
pubmed: 8 5 2024
entrez: 7 5 2024
Statut: epublish

Résumé

The COVID-19 pandemic has profoundly impacted individuals, society, and healthcare organisations worldwide. Recent international research suggests that concerns, needs, and experiences of healthcare workers (HCWs) have evolved throughout the pandemic. This longitudinal qualitative study explored the evolving views and experiences of Victorian healthcare workers (HCWs) and organisational key personnel during the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) pandemic. We recruited participants from the Coronavirus in Victorian Health and Aged care workers (COVIC-HA) study cohort. We conducted two rounds of semi-structured interviews with HCWs and organisational key personnel from three different healthcare settings (hospital, aged care and primary care) in Victoria, Australia, in May-July 2021 and May-July 2022. Data were analysed thematically using trajectory and recurrent cross-sectional approaches, guided by a temporal change framework. Twelve HCWs and five key personnel from various professional roles participated in interviews at both timepoints. Expected themes derived from mid-2021 interviews (navigating uncertainty, maintaining service delivery, and addressing staff needs) evolved over time. Concerns shifted from personal health and safety to workforce pressures, contributing to HCW burnout and fatigue and ongoing mental health support needs. New themes emerged from mid-2022 interviews, including managing ongoing COVID-19 impacts and supporting the healthcare workforce into the future. Clear and consistent communication, stable guidelines and forward-looking organisational responses were considered crucial. Our longitudinal qualitative study highlighted the evolving impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on HCWs' perceptions, health and wellbeing and uncovered long-term sector vulnerabilities. Analysing HCW experiences and key personnel insights over time and across different pandemic phases provided crucial insights for policymakers to protect the healthcare workforce. Findings emphasise the need for proactive strategies that prioritise HCWs' wellbeing and workforce sustainability. Policy makers must invest in HCW health and wellbeing initiatives alongside healthcare system improvements to ensure resilience and capacity to meet future challenges. This study was approved through the Victorian Streamlined Ethical Review Process (SERP: Project Number 68,086) and registered with ANZCTR (ACTRN12621000533897) on 6 May 2021.

Sections du résumé

BACKGROUND BACKGROUND
The COVID-19 pandemic has profoundly impacted individuals, society, and healthcare organisations worldwide. Recent international research suggests that concerns, needs, and experiences of healthcare workers (HCWs) have evolved throughout the pandemic. This longitudinal qualitative study explored the evolving views and experiences of Victorian healthcare workers (HCWs) and organisational key personnel during the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) pandemic.
METHODS METHODS
We recruited participants from the Coronavirus in Victorian Health and Aged care workers (COVIC-HA) study cohort. We conducted two rounds of semi-structured interviews with HCWs and organisational key personnel from three different healthcare settings (hospital, aged care and primary care) in Victoria, Australia, in May-July 2021 and May-July 2022. Data were analysed thematically using trajectory and recurrent cross-sectional approaches, guided by a temporal change framework.
RESULTS RESULTS
Twelve HCWs and five key personnel from various professional roles participated in interviews at both timepoints. Expected themes derived from mid-2021 interviews (navigating uncertainty, maintaining service delivery, and addressing staff needs) evolved over time. Concerns shifted from personal health and safety to workforce pressures, contributing to HCW burnout and fatigue and ongoing mental health support needs. New themes emerged from mid-2022 interviews, including managing ongoing COVID-19 impacts and supporting the healthcare workforce into the future. Clear and consistent communication, stable guidelines and forward-looking organisational responses were considered crucial.
CONCLUSIONS CONCLUSIONS
Our longitudinal qualitative study highlighted the evolving impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on HCWs' perceptions, health and wellbeing and uncovered long-term sector vulnerabilities. Analysing HCW experiences and key personnel insights over time and across different pandemic phases provided crucial insights for policymakers to protect the healthcare workforce. Findings emphasise the need for proactive strategies that prioritise HCWs' wellbeing and workforce sustainability. Policy makers must invest in HCW health and wellbeing initiatives alongside healthcare system improvements to ensure resilience and capacity to meet future challenges.
TRIAL REGISTRATION BACKGROUND
This study was approved through the Victorian Streamlined Ethical Review Process (SERP: Project Number 68,086) and registered with ANZCTR (ACTRN12621000533897) on 6 May 2021.

Identifiants

pubmed: 38715025
doi: 10.1186/s12913-024-11067-z
pii: 10.1186/s12913-024-11067-z
doi:

Types de publication

Journal Article Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't

Langues

eng

Sous-ensembles de citation

IM

Pagination

596

Investigateurs

Peter A Cameron (PA)
Andrew Forbes (A)
Kelsey Grantham (K)
Carol L Hodgson (CL)
Peter Hunter (P)
Jessica Kasza (J)
Philip L Russo (PL)
Malcolm Sim (M)
Kasha Singh (K)
Karen L Smith (KL)
Rhonda L Stuart (RL)
Helena J Teede (HJ)
James M Trauer (JM)
Andrew Udy (A)
Sophia Zoungas (S)

Informations de copyright

© 2024. The Author(s).

Références

Stobart A, Duckett S. Australia’s response to COVID-19. Health Econ Policy Law. 2022;17(1):95–106.
doi: 10.1017/S1744133121000244 pubmed: 34311803
Ritchie H, Mathieu E, Rodés-Guirao L, et al. COVID-19 data. Available from: https://ourworldindata.org/coronavirus . Accessed 1 Oct 2023.
Smallwood N, Karimi L, Bismark M, et al. High levels of psychosocial distress among Australian frontline healthcare workers during the COVID-19 pandemic: a cross-sectional survey. Gen Psychiatr. 2021;34(5):e100577.
doi: 10.1136/gpsych-2021-100577 pubmed: 34514332
McGuinness SL, Johnson J, Eades O, et al. Mental health outcomes in Australian healthcare and aged-care workers during the second year of the COVID-19 pandemic. Int J Environ Res Public Health. 2022;19(9):4951.
doi: 10.3390/ijerph19094951 pubmed: 35564351 pmcid: 9103405
Broom J, Williams Veazey L, Broom A, et al. Experiences of the SARS-CoV-2 pandemic amongst Australian healthcare workers: from stressors to protective factors. J Hosp Infect. 2022;121:75–81.
doi: 10.1016/j.jhin.2021.12.002 pubmed: 34902500
Plouffe RA, Nazarov A, Forchuk CA, et al. Impacts of morally distressing experiences on the mental health of Canadian health care workers during the COVID-19 pandemic. Eur J Psychotraumatol. 2021;12(1):1984667.
doi: 10.1080/20008198.2021.1984667 pubmed: 34777712 pmcid: 8583841
McGuinness SL, Josphin J, Eades O, et al. Organizational responses to the COVID-19 pandemic in Victoria, Australia: a qualitative study across four healthcare settings. Front Public Health. 2022;10:965664.
doi: 10.3389/fpubh.2022.965664 pubmed: 36249244 pmcid: 9557753
Vicentini S, Mercurio A, Romascu C, et al. Critical issues of working during the COVID-19 pandemic: Italian Healthcare workers’ experience. Int J Environ Res Public Health. 2022;19(2):927.
doi: 10.3390/ijerph19020927 pubmed: 35055746 pmcid: 8775553
Armstrong SJ, Porter JE, Larkins JA, Mesagno C. Burnout, stress and resilience of an Australian regional hospital during COVID-19: a longitudinal study. BMC Health Serv Res. 2022;22(1):1–13.
doi: 10.1186/s12913-022-08409-0
Th’ng F, Rao KA, Ge L, et al. A one-year longitudinal study: changes in depression and anxiety in frontline emergency department healthcare workers in the COVID-19 pandemic. Int J Environ Res Public Health. 2021;18(21):11228.
doi: 10.3390/ijerph182111228 pubmed: 34769750 pmcid: 8583330
Sasaki N, Asaoka H, Kuroda R, et al. Sustained poor mental health among healthcare workers in COVID-19 pandemic: a longitudinal analysis of the four-wave panel survey over 8 months in Japan. J Occup Health. 2021;63(1):e12227.
doi: 10.1002/1348-9585.12227 pubmed: 34021683 pmcid: 8140377
Lamb D, Gafoor R, Scott H, et al. Mental health of healthcare workers in England during the COVID-19 pandemic: a longitudinal cohort study. medRxiv. Preprint posted online June 16, 2022. https://doi.org/10.1101/2022.06.16.22276479 .
Oksanen A, Oksa R, Celuch M, et al. COVID-19 anxiety and wellbeing at work in Finland during 2020–2022: A 5-wave longitudinal survey study. Int J Environ Res Public Health. 2023;20(1):680.
van Elk F, Robroek SJW, Burdorf A, Hengel KMO. Impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on psychosocial work factors and emotional exhaustion among workers in the healthcare sector: a longitudinal study among 1915 Dutch workers. Occup Environ Med. 2023;80(1):27–33.
doi: 10.1136/oemed-2022-108478 pubmed: 36424169
McGuinness SL, Eades O, Grantham KL, et al. Mental health and wellbeing of health and aged care workers in Australia, May 2021 – June 2022: a longitudinal cohort study. Med J Aust. 2023;218(8):361–7.
doi: 10.5694/mja2.51918 pubmed: 37032118
Borek AJ, Pilbeam C, Mableson H, et al. Experiences and concerns of health workers throughout the first year of the COVID-19 pandemic in the UK: a longitudinal qualitative interview study. PLoS One. 2022;17(3):e0264906.
doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0264906 pubmed: 35294450 pmcid: 8926177
Tong A, Sainsbury P, Craig J. Consolidated criteria for reporting qualitative research (COREQ): a 32-item checklist for interviews and focus groups. Int J Qual Health Care. 2007;19(6):349–57.
doi: 10.1093/intqhc/mzm042 pubmed: 17872937
Read BL. Serial interviews:when and why to talk to someone more than once. Int J Qual Methods. 2018;17(1):1609406918783452.
doi: 10.1177/1609406918783452
Braun V, Clarke V. Reflecting on reflexive thematic analysis. Qual Res Sport Exerc Health. 2019;11(4):589–97. https://doi.org/10.1080/2159676X.2019.1628806 .
doi: 10.1080/2159676X.2019.1628806
Byrne D. A worked example of Braun and Clarke’s approach to reflexive thematic analysis. Qual Quant. 2022;56(3):1391–412.
doi: 10.1007/s11135-021-01182-y
Braun V, Clarke V. Using thematic analysis in psychology. Qual Res Psychol. 2006;3(2):77–101.
doi: 10.1191/1478088706qp063oa
Grossoehme D, Lipstein E. Analyzing longitudinal qualitative data: the application of trajectory and recurrent cross-sectional approaches. BMC Res Notes. 2016;9(1):136.
doi: 10.1186/s13104-016-1954-1 pubmed: 26936266 pmcid: 4776420
Saldaña J. Longitudinal qualitative research: analyzing change through time. Walnut Creek: Rowman Altamira; 2003.
Galanis P, Vraka I, Fragkou D, et al. Impact of personal protective equipment use on health care workers’ physical health during the COVID-19 pandemic: a systematic review and meta-analysis. Am J Infect Control. 2021;49(10):1305–15.
doi: 10.1016/j.ajic.2021.04.084 pubmed: 33965463 pmcid: 8102386
Ness MM, Saylor J, Di Fusco LA, Evans K. Healthcare providers’ challenges during the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) pandemic: a qualitative approach. Nurs Health Sci. 2021;23(2):389–97.
doi: 10.1111/nhs.12820 pubmed: 33580590 pmcid: 8012981
Gustavsson K, Goetz-Kundera Z, Flaga-Łuczkiewicz M, Wichniak A. Which aspects of work safety satisfaction are important to Mental Health of Healthcare Workers during COVID-19 pandemic in Poland? Int J Environ Res Public Health. 2023;20(4): 2870.
doi: 10.3390/ijerph20042870 pubmed: 36833567 pmcid: 9957319
Russell L, Campani L, Jones J, Healy B. Fluid-repellent surgical mask (FRSM) fit - one size does not fit all. Clin Med (Lond). 2021;21(3):e283-286.
doi: 10.7861/clinmed.2021-0054 pubmed: 33824138
O’Connell L, Asad H, Hall G, et al. Detailed analysis of in-hospital transmission of SARS-CoV-2 using whole genome sequencing. J Hosp Infect. 2023;131:23–33.
doi: 10.1016/j.jhin.2022.09.023 pubmed: 36240955
Fukuti P, Uchôa CLM, Mazzoco MF, et al. How institutions can protect the mental health and psychosocial well-being of their healthcare workers in the current COVID-19 pandemic. Clinics. 2020;75:e1963.
doi: 10.6061/clinics/2020/e1963 pubmed: 32520224 pmcid: 7247736
De Brier N, Stroobants S, Vandekerckhove P, De Buck E. Factors affecting mental health of health care workers during coronavirus disease outbreaks (SARS, MERS & COVID-19): a rapid systematic review. PLoS One. 2020;15(12): e0244052.
doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0244052 pubmed: 33320910 pmcid: 7737991
Dorsey MS. Dueling burnout: the dual-role nurse. Nurs Manag. 2023;54(2):32–40.
doi: 10.1097/01.NUMA.0000918200.92839.d9
Nayna Schwerdtle P, Connell CJ, Lee S, et al. Nurse expertise: a critical resource in the COVID-19 pandemic response. Ann Glob Health. 2020;86(1):49.
doi: 10.5334/aogh.2898 pubmed: 32435602 pmcid: 7227394
Halstead DC, Sautter RL. A literature review on how we can address medical laboratory scientist staffing shortages. Lab Med. 2022;54(1):e31-36.
doi: 10.1093/labmed/lmac090
Billings J, Ching BCF, Gkofa V, et al. Experiences of frontline healthcare workers and their views about support during COVID-19 and previous pandemics: a systematic review and qualitative meta-synthesis. BMC Health Serv Res. 2021;21(1):923.
doi: 10.1186/s12913-021-06917-z pubmed: 34488733 pmcid: 8419805
AL-Abrrow H, Al-Maatoq M, Alharbi RK, et al. Understanding employees’ responses to the COVID-19 pandemic: the attractiveness of healthcare jobs. Glob Bus Organ Excell. 2021;40(2):19–33.
doi: 10.1002/joe.22070
Rocchio BJ, Seys JD, Williams DL, et al. The postpandemic nursing workforce: increasing fill rates and reducing workload through a generational design of workforce layers. Nurs Adm Q. 2023;47(1):4–12.
doi: 10.1097/NAQ.0000000000000555 pubmed: 36469369
Hadavi M, Ghomian Z, Mohammadi F, Sahebi A. Workplace violence against health care workers during the COVID-19 pandemic: a systematic review and meta-analysis. J Safety Res. 2023;85:1–7.
doi: 10.1016/j.jsr.2023.01.001 pubmed: 37330859 pmcid: 9870761
Wiwoho J, Firdaus SU, Machfudz DAA, Laxamanahady MSD. Legal protection of health care workers regarding work place violence during pandemic COVID-19. J Law Legal Reform. 2023;4(1):63.
doi: 10.15294/jllr.v4i1.61842
Audulv Å, Hall EOC, Kneck Å, et al. Qualitative longitudinal research in health research: a method study. BMC Med Res Methodol. 2022;22:255. https://doi.org/10.1186/s12874-022-01732-4 .
doi: 10.1186/s12874-022-01732-4 pubmed: 36182899 pmcid: 9526289
Calman L, Brunton L, Molassiotis A. Developing longitudinal qualitative designs: lessons learned and recommendations for health services research. BMC Med Res Methodol. 2013;13:14. https://doi.org/10.1186/1471-2288-13-14 .
doi: 10.1186/1471-2288-13-14 pubmed: 23388075 pmcid: 3598728
Korstjens I, Moser A. Series: Practical guidance to qualitative research. Part 4: Trustworthiness and publishing. Eur J Gen Pract. 2018;24(1):120–4.
doi: 10.1080/13814788.2017.1375092 pubmed: 29202616

Auteurs

Sarah L McGuinness (SL)

School of Public Health and Preventive Medicine, Monash University, 553 St Kilda Road, Melbourne, VIC, 3004, Australia. sarah.mcguinness@monash.edu.
Alfred Health, Melbourne, VIC, Australia. sarah.mcguinness@monash.edu.

Owen Eades (O)

School of Public Health and Preventive Medicine, Monash University, 553 St Kilda Road, Melbourne, VIC, 3004, Australia.
Alfred Health, Melbourne, VIC, Australia.

Shannon Zhong (S)

School of Public Health and Preventive Medicine, Monash University, 553 St Kilda Road, Melbourne, VIC, 3004, Australia.
Alfred Health, Melbourne, VIC, Australia.

Sharon Clifford (S)

School of Public Health and Preventive Medicine, Monash University, 553 St Kilda Road, Melbourne, VIC, 3004, Australia.

Jane Fisher (J)

School of Public Health and Preventive Medicine, Monash University, 553 St Kilda Road, Melbourne, VIC, 3004, Australia.

Helen L Kelsall (HL)

School of Public Health and Preventive Medicine, Monash University, 553 St Kilda Road, Melbourne, VIC, 3004, Australia.

Maggie Kirkman (M)

School of Public Health and Preventive Medicine, Monash University, 553 St Kilda Road, Melbourne, VIC, 3004, Australia.

Grant Russell (G)

School of Public Health and Preventive Medicine, Monash University, 553 St Kilda Road, Melbourne, VIC, 3004, Australia.

Helen Skouteris (H)

School of Public Health and Preventive Medicine, Monash University, 553 St Kilda Road, Melbourne, VIC, 3004, Australia.

Karin Leder (K)

School of Public Health and Preventive Medicine, Monash University, 553 St Kilda Road, Melbourne, VIC, 3004, Australia.
Royal Melbourne Hospital, Melbourne, VIC, Australia.

Articles similaires

[Redispensing of expensive oral anticancer medicines: a practical application].

Lisanne N van Merendonk, Kübra Akgöl, Bastiaan Nuijen
1.00
Humans Antineoplastic Agents Administration, Oral Drug Costs Counterfeit Drugs

Smoking Cessation and Incident Cardiovascular Disease.

Jun Hwan Cho, Seung Yong Shin, Hoseob Kim et al.
1.00
Humans Male Smoking Cessation Cardiovascular Diseases Female
Humans United States Aged Cross-Sectional Studies Medicare Part C
1.00
Humans Yoga Low Back Pain Female Male

Classifications MeSH