Judith McHugh, Paul Trotman, Helen D Nicholson, Kelby Smith-Han
{"title":"Conceptualising wellbeing among health-care workers during the Covid-19 pandemic.","authors":"Judith McHugh, Paul Trotman, Helen D Nicholson, Kelby Smith-Han","doi":"10.1177/13634593241279206","DOIUrl":null,"url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>Since 2020 health workers everywhere have been challenged by the ongoing ramifications of the Covid-19 pandemic. This virus impacted all aspects of life but health-related workplaces particularly, were transformed virtually overnight. Demands were heightened and customary supports came under pressure presenting a huge crisis for health systems. The goal of this study was to explore how this catastrophic pandemic event impacted the wellbeing of healthcare professionals (HCPs) working through this time. Interviews with 57 HCPs from multiple countries and specialty areas were explored utilising inductive content analysis (ICA). Resulting data were then categorised into themes and deductively analysed utilising a method informed by Capability Theory. These were secondary data as the interviews were part of a larger set collected primarily for the purpose of a documentary being made about this experience. This study found that illbeing experiences were prevalent among HCPs. However, significant sources of wellbeing were also evident, and were instrumental in maintaining HCP resilience. Wellbeing was enhanced when HCPs experienced a small number of key <i>capabilities</i> that enabled a broad range of <i>functionings.</i> The <i>capabilities</i> were for (a) participation in positive relationships, (b) a sense of identity, purpose, meaning and value in relation to one's work and (c) ability to provide an appropriate level of medical treatment, care and other role related support. These c<i>apabilities</i> were central to HCP wellbeing irrespective of the individual's location and specialty area, however the ability to realise these <i>capabilities</i> in desired <i>functionings</i> was differentially impacted by each individual's unique circumstances.</p>","PeriodicalId":12944,"journal":{"name":"Health","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":1.9000,"publicationDate":"2024-10-06","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":"0","resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":null,"PeriodicalName":"Health","FirstCategoryId":"3","ListUrlMain":"https://doi.org/10.1177/13634593241279206","RegionNum":4,"RegionCategory":"医学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":null,"EPubDate":"","PubModel":"","JCR":"Q3","JCRName":"PUBLIC, ENVIRONMENTAL & OCCUPATIONAL HEALTH","Score":null,"Total":0}
引用次数: 0
Abstract
Since 2020 health workers everywhere have been challenged by the ongoing ramifications of the Covid-19 pandemic. This virus impacted all aspects of life but health-related workplaces particularly, were transformed virtually overnight. Demands were heightened and customary supports came under pressure presenting a huge crisis for health systems. The goal of this study was to explore how this catastrophic pandemic event impacted the wellbeing of healthcare professionals (HCPs) working through this time. Interviews with 57 HCPs from multiple countries and specialty areas were explored utilising inductive content analysis (ICA). Resulting data were then categorised into themes and deductively analysed utilising a method informed by Capability Theory. These were secondary data as the interviews were part of a larger set collected primarily for the purpose of a documentary being made about this experience. This study found that illbeing experiences were prevalent among HCPs. However, significant sources of wellbeing were also evident, and were instrumental in maintaining HCP resilience. Wellbeing was enhanced when HCPs experienced a small number of key capabilities that enabled a broad range of functionings. The capabilities were for (a) participation in positive relationships, (b) a sense of identity, purpose, meaning and value in relation to one's work and (c) ability to provide an appropriate level of medical treatment, care and other role related support. These capabilities were central to HCP wellbeing irrespective of the individual's location and specialty area, however the ability to realise these capabilities in desired functionings was differentially impacted by each individual's unique circumstances.
期刊介绍:
Health: is published four times per year and attempts in each number to offer a mix of articles that inform or that provoke debate. The readership of the journal is wide and drawn from different disciplines and from workers both inside and outside the health care professions. Widely abstracted, Health: ensures authors an extensive and informed readership for their work. It also seeks to offer authors as short a delay as possible between submission and publication. Most articles are reviewed within 4-6 weeks of submission and those accepted are published within a year of that decision.