Being a mother as a healthcare professional in the COVID-19 pandemic: A qualitative study

Yıl 2023, Cilt: 36 Sayı: 1, 126 - 134, 31.01.2023

Nesibe Gunay Molu Sadiye Sert Neslihan Durmusoglu Saltalı

https://doi.org/10.5472/marumj.1244379

Öz

Objective: The aim of this research was to determine the changes in relationships between healthcare professional mothers and their
preschool-aged children during the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic. In addition, the second objective of this study
was to propose a new phenomenon that explains “being a mother as a healthcare professional” during the COVID-19 pandemic.
Materials and Methods: The participants of the research were 16 healthcare professional mothers (8 doctors and 8 nurses) who had
worked in intensive care units during the COVID-19 pandemic and had a preschool-aged child. The research was conducted in
accordance with the phenomenological approach, one of the qualitative research designs. The research data were obtained through
face-to-face interviews between the researchers and the participants using half-structured interview forms prepared by the researchers.
Colaizzi’s 7-step method was used for evaluation of the data.
Results: According to the research findings, the phenomenon of “being a mother as a healthcare professional” was gathered under
four main themes: emotional reactions, new normal in life, difficulties that pandemic brought in life and coping strategies with these
difficulties.
Conclusion: The findings showed that the COVID-19 pandemic caused many changes in the lives of healthcare professional mothers
and their children; these mothers and children built some emotional reactions, and they developed various strategies to overcome
these emotional reactions.

Anahtar Kelimeler

Pandemic, Mother-child relation, Healthcare professional, Preschool-aged children

Kaynakça

• Saatci E. COVID 19 pandemic and health professionals: Keep them alive or survive? Turk J Fam Prac 2020;24:153-66. https://doi.org/10.15511/tahd.20.0035
• Sun N, Wei L, Shi S, et al., A qualitative study on the psychological experience of caregivers of COVID-19 patients. Am J of Infection Cont 2020;48:592-8. https://doi. org/10.1016/j.ajic.2020.03.018
• Liu Q, Luo D, Haase JE, et al., The experiences of health-care providers during the COVID-19 crisis in China: a qualitative study. The Lancet Glob Health 2020;8:790-8. https://doi. org/10.1016/S2214-109X(20)30204-7
• Hayes N, O’Toole L, Halpenny AM. Introducing Bronfenbrenner: A guide for practitioners and students in early years education. 2017. Taylor & Francis Group. Accessed on: November 20, 2021. https://COVID19.who.int/
• Zeynepoglu Akbas Ö, Dursun C. Mothers interpolating public space into private space during the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic. Eu J Res in Soc Econ 2020;7:78-94. https:// dergipark.org.tr/en/download/article-file/1128136
• Perelli-Harris B, Walzenbach S. How has the COVID-19 crisis impacted parents relationships with their children? (ESRC Centre for Population Change: Policy Briefing, 54). 2020. University of Southampton. http://doi.org/10.5255/ UKDA-SN-8644-1
• Evans S, Mikocka-Walus A, Klas A, et al., From “It has stopped our lives” to “spending more time together has strengthened bonds”: The varied experiences of Australian families during COVID-19. Front Psychol 2020;11:1-13. https://doi. org/10.3389/fpsyg.2020.588667
• Etikan I, Bala K. Sampling and sampling methods. Biometrics Biostatistics Int J 2017;5:215-7. https://doi.org/10.15406/ bbij.2017.05.00149
• Di Giorgio E, Di Riso D, Mioni G, Cellini N. The interplay between mothers’ and children behavioral and psychological factors during COVID-19: An Italian study. Euro Child Adolescent Psych 2021;3:1401-12 https://doi.org/10.1007/ s00787.020.01631-3
• Alase A. The interpretative phenomenological analysis (IPA): A guide to a good qualitative research approach. Int J Educ Lit Res 2017;5:9-19. http://dx.doi.org/10.7575/aiac.ijels.v.5n.2p.9
• Sutton J, Austin Z. Qualitive research: Data collection , analysis, and management. Can J Hosp Pharm 2015;68:226- 331. https://doi.org/10.4212/cjhp.v68i3.1456
• Praveena KR, Sasikumar S. Application of Colaizzi’s method of data analysis in phenomenological research. Med- Legal Update 2021;21:914-8. https://doi.org/10.37506/mlu. v21i2.2800
• FitzPatrick B. Validity in qualitative health education research. Curr in Pharm Teach Learn 2019;11:211-7. https://doi. org/10.1016/j.cptl.2018.11.014
• Yıldırım A, Şimşek H. Qualitative research methods in the social sciences. (11th Edition). Ankara: Seçkin Publication. 2018.
• Hayashi Jr P, Abib G, Hoppen N. Validity in qualitative research: A processual approach. Qualitative Rep 2019;24:98- 112. https://nsuworks.nova.edu/tqr/vol24/iss1/8
• Mays N, Pope C. Quality in qualitative research. Qualitative Res Health Care 2020;211-233. https://doi. org/10.1002/978.111.9410867.ch15
• IASC Inter-Agency Standing Committee. Interim briefing note addressing mental health and psychosocial aspects of COVID-19 outbreak. Accessed on:February 12, 2020. https://interagencystandingcommittee.org/iasc-referencegroup- mental-health-and-psychosocial-support-emergencysettings/ interim-briefing-note-addressing-mental-healthand- psychosocial-aspects-COVID-19-outbreak
• Rossi R, Socci V, Pacitti F, et al., Mental health outcomes among front – and second-line health workers associated with the COVID-19 pandemic in Italy. MedRxiv 2020;1-5. https:// doi.org/10.1101/2020.04.16.20067801
• Kackin O, Ciydem E, Aci OS, Kutlu FY. Experiences and psychosocial problems of nurses caring for patients diagnosed with COVID-19 in Turkey: A qualitative study. Int J Soc Psychiatr 2021;67:158-167. https://doi. org/10.1177/002.076.4020942788
• Rajakaruna SJ, Liu WB, Ding YB, Cao GW. Strategy and technology to prevent hospital-acquired infections: Lessons from SARS, Ebola, and MERS in Asia and West Africa. Mil Med Res 2017;4:2-6. https://doi.org/10.1186/s40779.017.0142-5
• Chowell G, Abdirizak F, Lee S, et al., Transmission characteristics of MERS and SARS in the healthcare setting: a comparative study. BMC Med 2015;13:1-12. https://doi. org/10.1186 / s12916.015.0450-0
• Cai H, Tu B, Ma J, et al., Psychological impact and coping strategies of frontline medical staff in Hunan between January and March 2020 during the outbreak of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID 19) in Hubei, China, Med Sci Monit 2020;26:e924171. https://doi.org/10.12659/MSM.92417
• Bidzan M, Bidzan-Bluma I, Szulman-Wardal A, Stueck M, Bidzan M. Does self-efficacy and emotional control protect hospital staff from COVID-19 anxiety and PTSD symptoms? Psychological functioning of hospital staff after the announcement of COVID-19 Coronavirus pandemic. Front Psychol 2020;11:1-9. https://doi.org/10.3389/ fpsyg.2020.552583
• Di Nicola V, Daly N. Growing up in a pandemic: Biomedical and psychosocial impacts of the COVID-19 crisis on children and families. World Soc Psychiatr 2020;2:148-51. https://doi. org/10.4103/WSP.WSP_52_20
• Berk LE. Infants and children: Prenatal through middle childhood. (Trans. N. Iskkoglu Erdogan). Ankara: Nobel Publication. 2020.
• Topac N, Bardak M, Silik DD. The child’s right to play and the reasons for not being able to access the right to play. 5th International Congress of Social Humanities and Educational Sciences, 19-20 December 2019, Istanbul, Turkey.
• Imran N, Zeshan M, Pervaiz Z. Mental health considerations for children & adolescents in COVID-19 Pandemic. Pakistan J Med Sci 2020;36:67-72. https://doi.org/10.12669/pjms.36. COVID19-S4.2759
• Hollenstein T, Tighe AB, Lougheed JP. Emotional development in the context of mother–child relationships. Curr Op Psychol 2017;17:140-4. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.copsyc.2017.07.010
• Fernandes C, Monteiro L, Santos AJ, et al., Early father–child and mother–child attachment relationships: contributions to preschoolers’ social competence. Attach Human Dev 2020;22:687-704. https://doi.org/10.1080/14616.734.2019.169 2045
• Kuftyak EV, Zadorova JA. Preschoolers attachment to the mother and its impact on mental health. Clin Psychol Spec Edu 2020;9:169-185. https://doi.org/10.17759/cpse.202.009.0109
• Canada Center for Occupational Health and Safety. Coronavirus (COVID-19) Tips. Preventing Stigma. Accessed on: December 12, 2021. https://www.ccohs.ca/newsletters/ hsreport/issues/current.html#hsreport-ontopic
• Ertem ME. COVID-19 Pandemia and social stigmatization. Izmir Katip Celebi Uni Fac of Health Sci J 2020;5:135-8. https://dergipark.org.tr/en/download/article-file/1196523
• Jiao WY, Wang LN, Liu J, et al., Behavioral and emotional disorders in children during the COVID-19 epidemic. J Pediatr 2020;221:264-6. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jpeds.2020.03.013
• Mochida S, Sanada M, Shao Q, et al., Factors modifying children’s stress during the COVID-19 pandemic in Japan. Euro Early Child Educ Res J 2021;1-15. https://doi. org/10.1080/1350293X.2021.187.2669