Abstract
The COVID-19 pandemic put the Italian health system under great stress. The sudden reorganization of work practices and the emotional impact of the large number of the victims had many consequences on the well-being of the healthcare professionals (HCPs) involved in managing the crisis. In the available literature, most studies have focused on the risk aspects while only few studies also take into account protective factors. For this reason, it was decided to conduct, within psycho-sociological perspective, a qualitative study with the aim to explore in depth the protective and risk factors as experienced by HCPs who worked in the Italian healthcare system during the COVID-19 outbreak. A total of 19 semi-structured interviews were conducted with HCPs–9 nurses and 10 physicians (7M and 12F) with an average age of 43 (SD = 13.4)–selected using snowball sampling. Considering three different levels of analysis the results highlight the protective and risk factors: personal history level (intrinsic/ethical motivation and flexible role versus extrinsic motivation and static role), interpersonal level (perception of supportive relationships with colleagues, patients, and family versus bad relationships), and organizational level (good leadership and sustainable work purpose versus absence of support from management and undefined or confused tasks).
Highlights
Following the Hubei region of China, that faced the coronavirus disease (COVID-19)since December 2019 [1], Italy was the first country in Europe to deal on a massive scale with the virus that, especially in the first phase, spread faster than in other areas [2]
In the light of these considerations, our study aims to understand in depth the risk and protective factors in the perception of healthcare professionals (HCPs) who worked in the Italian healthcare system during the COVID-19 outbreak
The rapidity of COVID-19 transmission, the concentration in health care settings and the impact on HCPs has highlighted the need for reviewing existing health care practices, procedures and organizational culture
Summary
Following the Hubei region of China, that faced the coronavirus disease (COVID-19)since December 2019 [1], Italy was the first country in Europe to deal on a massive scale with the virus that, especially in the first phase, spread faster than in other areas [2]. The most difficult moments occurred especially during the first weeks of pandemic when HCPs had to deal with insufficient personal protective equipment (i.e., gowns, masks, and face shields) [3] which exposed the personnel to higher risk of contracting coronavirus than the general public [4] making it vulnerable [4,5,6,7] These objective difficulties were coupled with psychological difficulties linked to the fear of contracting the virus, infecting one’s family members, and, above all, to one’s sense of helplessness in the face of patient losses [8].
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