Abstract
The large numbers of patients admitted to intensive care units due to COVID-19 has had a major impact on healthcare professionals. The incidence of mental health disorders among these professionals has increased considerably and their professional quality of life has suffered during the pandemic. This study aims to explore the impact of the provision of COVID-19 patient care on ICU healthcare professionals. A mixed methods study with an exploratory concurrent design was conducted between June and November 2020 in the Balearic Islands, Spain. Data were collected using a self-report online survey (n = 122) based on three validated questionnaires, and individual semi-structured in-depth online interviews (n = 11). Respondents scored 2.5 out of 5 on the moral distress scale, moderate/high on the compassion satisfaction scale, and moderate on the burnout and compassion fatigue subscales. Age was significantly and negatively related to professional quality of life but was positively related to workload and unavailability of protective equipment. Three main groups of themes relating to the impact of the pandemic emerged from the in-depth interviews: (a) clinical, (b) professional, and (c) personal and family impacts in the two waves. ICU healthcare professionals should be viewed as second victims of the COVID-19 pandemic as they have suffered significant psychological, professional, and moral harm.
Highlights
74% felt that they had the necessary protective equipment, 89% saw their workload increase, and 90% reported caring for patients who had died from COVID-19
Critical care professionals may be regarded as second victims of the COVID-19 pandemic because of the enormous impact on their clinical, professional, and personal lives
Changes in care provision linked to the need to adapt to anti-COVID measures, increased workloads, and patient loneliness have negatively affected their professional quality of life, increasing their levels of compassion fatigue and burnout
Summary
Publisher’s Note: MDPI stays neutral with regard to jurisdictional claims in published maps and institutional affiliations. On 11 March 2020, the World Health Organization declared COVID-19 a global pandemic [1]. In Spain, a state of emergency was declared three days later: fundamental rights were limited, and lockdown restrictions imposed on the entire population. This situation lasted until May 2020, marking the first wave of the pandemic. After two months of low infection rates and the easing of restrictions to reopen the economy, the second wave began in August 2020 and lasted until October 2020, this time without stay-athome lockdowns
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 callMore From: International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health
Disclaimer: 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.
