Shared sources and mechanisms of healthcare worker distress in COVID-19: a comparative qualitative study in Canada and the UK

• DOI: 10.1080/20008066.2022.2107810
• Publication Date: 2022-08-11T14:48:08Z
• Authors: Suze G. Berkhout; Jo Billings; Nada Abou Seif; David Singleton; Hilarie Stein; Siobhan Hegarty; Tamara Ondruskova; Emilia Soulios; Michael A.P. Bloo...; Talya Greene; Alison Seto; Susan Abbey; Kathleen Sheehan
• Keywords: 2019-20 coronavirus outbreak

Background: COVID-19 has had a significant impact on the wellbeing of healthcare workers, with quantitative studies identifying increased stress, anxiety, depression, insomnia, and PTSD in wide range settings. Limited qualitative data so far offered in-depth details concerning what underlies these challenges, but none provide comprehensive comparison across different systems.Objective: To explore findings relating to worker distress from two countries understand nuanced similarities differences respect sources COVID-19.Method: A comparative interpretive thematic analysis was carried out between sets examining workers' experiences during pandemic. Data Canada UK were collected parallel analyzed an iterative, collaborative process.Results: number cut both study settings including concerns about safety patient care, challenges at home or one's personal life, communication issues, work environment, media public perception, government responses These sit spectrum individual institutional mutually reinforcing. Our also suggested that common mechanisms such as exacerbations uncertainty, hypervigilance, moral injury underpinned sources, which contributed how they experienced distressing.Conclusion: This is first international collaboration utilising examine this pressing issue. Despite political, social, health service, pandemic-related context, by workers remarkably similar.HIGHLIGHTS explores lead are shared geographies cultures, even local context shapes themselves.