Abstract
Background: The COVID-19 pandemic severely strained the already unprepared Italian healthcare system. This had repercussions on healthcare workers, stemming, in particular, from a lack of clear guidelines, adequate protective equipment, and professional preparedness. Such conditions were especially prevalent in Northern Italy.Objectives: This study aimed to examine COVID-19-related professional and psychoemotional stress among nurses and doctors in two hospitals in Northern Italy, along with the worst critical incidents affecting healthcare personnel. A parallel objective was to elicit healthcare professionals' opinions about what changes are needed in the healthcare system's operations, as well as about the relational/emotional skills that are needed to better manage relationships with patients in emergency situations.Participants: Snowball sampling was used to recruit participants and yielded 17 hospital professionals: six nurses (five female and one male) and 11 doctors (seven male and four female). Three of these professionals worked in intensive care and the others in different wards. All had close contact with COVID-19 patients.Methods: The study employed a qualitative research design, using in-depth interviews of ~60 min each that were conducted via Skype video calls. The interviews were recorded and transcribed, then analysed. The qualitative analysis employed mixed methods to identify the most relevant and recursive themes from the interviews.Results: Four fundamental themes emerged from our analysis of the interview texts: (1) disorganisation and psychoemotional stress; (2) urgency and critical incidents; (3) everything surreal; and (4) disruptions in empathetic relationships with patients.Conclusions: Through our analysis of the interview narratives, we found that systematic and in-depth psychological training is needed to prepare professionals for (1) altered relationships with patients in emergencies; (2) use of exceptional medical equipment; (3) elaboration of new bioethical models suitable for disasters and pandemics; and (4) engagement with the themes of death and dying.
Highlights
The COVID-19 pandemic has tested the Italian healthcare system and significantly affected the relationships among healthcare professionals, patients and their families
The most significant of these changes has been a movement away from understanding disease as a compromise of biological structures and functions—on which doctors were the unique authority—to a new perspective that views health as a complex phenomenon with intertwined biological, psychological, social, and spiritual aspects. The latter view requires a different relationship between healthcare professionals and patients [i.e., one that moves away from authoritative frameworks and towards more humanistic ones, such as those recommended by the medical humanities and patient-centric approaches (Pirone, 2018)]
We were interested in the ways in which healthcare providers experienced the state of emergency imposed by the rapid spread of the coronavirus and the major difficulties they encountered
Summary
The COVID-19 pandemic has tested the Italian healthcare system and significantly affected the relationships among healthcare professionals, patients and their families. The most significant of these changes has been a movement away from understanding disease as a compromise of biological structures and functions—on which doctors were the unique authority—to a new perspective that views health as a complex phenomenon with intertwined biological, psychological, social, and spiritual aspects The latter view requires a different relationship between healthcare professionals and patients [i.e., one that moves away from authoritative frameworks and towards more humanistic ones, such as those recommended by the medical humanities and patient-centric approaches (Pirone, 2018)]. A recent study on a group of non-healthcare personnel showed that such defences do not reduce burnout levels (Testoni et al, 2020a) This demonstrated the need to find better strategies (Testoni et al, 2019a) [e.g., by enhancing the spiritual dimension (Testoni et al, 2016; Castro et al, 2019)].
Sign-in/Register to view highlights & summary Sign-in/Register to access full text options 
Talk to us
Join us for a 30 min session where you can share your feedback and ask us any queries you have
Schedule a callDisclaimer: All third-party content on this website/platform is and will remain the property of their respective owners and is provided on "as is" basis without any warranties, express or implied. Use of third-party content does not indicate any affiliation, sponsorship with or endorsement by them. Any references to third-party content is to identify the corresponding services and shall be considered fair use under The CopyrightLaw.
