Imran Khalid1,2,3, Maryam Imran4, Manahil Imran4, Muhammad Ali Akhtar5, Saifullah Khan6, Khadija Amanullah6, Tabindeh Jabeen Khalid6. 1. King Faisal Specialist Hospital & Research Center, Jeddah, Saudi Arabia dr.imrankhalid@yahoo.com. 2. Al-Faisal University, Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. 3. John D Dingell VA Medical Center, Detroit, Michigan, USA. 4. Shifa College of Medicine, Islamabad, Pakistan. 5. Allama Iqbal Medical College, Lahore, Punjab, Pakistan. 6. King Faisal Specialist Hospital & Research Center, Jeddah, Saudi Arabia.
Abstract
Objective: Both Middle East Respiratory Syndrome (MERS) and Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19) have an emotional toll on healthcare workers (HCWs), but the difference of the impact between the two diseases remains unknown.Design: A cross sectional descriptive survey.Setting: A tertiary care hospital.Participants: 125 HCWs who worked during the 2014 MERS as well as the 2020 COVID-19 outbreaks in high-risk areas of the hospital including critical care, emergency room and COVID-19 clinics. Methods: The comprehensive survey comprised 5 sections and 68 questions and was administered to HCWs before availability of the COVID-19 vaccine. The survey evaluated hospital staff emotions, perceived stressors, external factors that reduced stress, personal coping strategies, and motivators for future outbreaks. The participants rated each question for MERS and COVID-19 simultaneously on a scale from 0-3. The responses were reported as mean and standard deviation, while Wilcoxon signed-rank test was used to calculate the difference in responses. Results: There were 102 (82%) participants who returned the questionnaire. The ritual of obsessive hand washing, emotional and physical fatigue, ongoing changes in infection control guidelines, fear of community transmission, and limitations on socialization and travel were the major stressors that were significantly worse during COVID-19 compared to MERS (P<0.05) and led to HCWs adoption of additional 'personal' coping strategies during COVID-19. There was no difference between COVID-19 and MERS, however, among preferences for 'external' factors made available to HCWs that could reduce stress or in their preferences for motivators to work in future outbreaks (P>.05). Conclusion: Both the MERS and COVID-19 outbreaks were emotionally draining for HCWs. However, COVID-19 was a relatively more stressful experience than MERS for HCWs and led to greater personal, behavioral, and protective adaptations by the hospital staff.
Objective: Both Middle East Respiratory Syndrome (MERS) and Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19) have an emotional toll on healthcare workers (HCWs), but the difference of the impact between the two diseases remains unknown.Design: A cross sectional descriptive survey.Setting: A tertiary care hospital.Participants: 125 HCWs who worked during the 2014 MERS as well as the 2020 COVID-19 outbreaks in high-risk areas of the hospital including critical care, emergency room and COVID-19 clinics. Methods: The comprehensive survey comprised 5 sections and 68 questions and was administered to HCWs before availability of the COVID-19 vaccine. The survey evaluated hospital staff emotions, perceived stressors, external factors that reduced stress, personal coping strategies, and motivators for future outbreaks. The participants rated each question for MERS and COVID-19 simultaneously on a scale from 0-3. The responses were reported as mean and standard deviation, while Wilcoxon signed-rank test was used to calculate the difference in responses. Results: There were 102 (82%) participants who returned the questionnaire. The ritual of obsessive hand washing, emotional and physical fatigue, ongoing changes in infection control guidelines, fear of community transmission, and limitations on socialization and travel were the major stressors that were significantly worse during COVID-19 compared to MERS (P<0.05) and led to HCWs adoption of additional 'personal' coping strategies during COVID-19. There was no difference between COVID-19 and MERS, however, among preferences for 'external' factors made available to HCWs that could reduce stress or in their preferences for motivators to work in future outbreaks (P>.05). Conclusion: Both the MERS and COVID-19 outbreaks were emotionally draining for HCWs. However, COVID-19 was a relatively more stressful experience than MERS for HCWs and led to greater personal, behavioral, and protective adaptations by the hospital staff.
Authors: Jay J Van Bavel; Katherine Baicker; Paulo S Boggio; Valerio Capraro; Aleksandra Cichocka; Mina Cikara; Molly J Crockett; Alia J Crum; Karen M Douglas; James N Druckman; John Drury; Oeindrila Dube; Naomi Ellemers; Eli J Finkel; James H Fowler; Michele Gelfand; Shihui Han; S Alexander Haslam; Jolanda Jetten; Shinobu Kitayama; Dean Mobbs; Lucy E Napper; Dominic J Packer; Gordon Pennycook; Ellen Peters; Richard E Petty; David G Rand; Stephen D Reicher; Simone Schnall; Azim Shariff; Linda J Skitka; Sandra Susan Smith; Cass R Sunstein; Nassim Tabri; Joshua A Tucker; Sander van der Linden; Paul van Lange; Kim A Weeden; Michael J A Wohl; Jamil Zaki; Sean R Zion; Robb Willer Journal: Nat Hum Behav Date: 2020-04-30
Authors: Christopher M Petrilli; Simon A Jones; Jie Yang; Harish Rajagopalan; Luke O'Donnell; Yelena Chernyak; Katie A Tobin; Robert J Cerfolio; Fritz Francois; Leora I Horwitz Journal: BMJ Date: 2020-05-22
Authors: Hannah F Fung; Leonardo Martinez; Fernando Alarid-Escudero; Joshua A Salomon; David M Studdert; Jason R Andrews; Jeremy D Goldhaber-Fiebert Journal: Clin Infect Dis Date: 2021-07-30 Impact factor: 20.999