A Qualitative Evaluation of the Health-Care Workers Infected with COVID-19

Öz

This study aims to determine the thoughts and opinions of healthcare professionals working in a pandemic hospital and infected with COVID-19 regarding the reasons for taking the agent, the disease process, and the risks in the environment in which they work. This study was designed as a qualitative descriptive study. The study, which is working in a pandemic hospital in Turkey and 14 health workers who were infected with COVID-19 was carried out between June-July 2020. The researcher collected the data through face-to-face interviews with a semi-structured, in-depth interview form created in line with the aims of the study. In the study, three main themes were determined under the heading of; the negative effects on health of COVID-19 as a healthcare worker during the pandemic process, thoughts about the cause of becoming COVID-19, and experiences and effects during the COVID-19 disease process. During the interviews, healthcare professionals stated that they were caught COVID-19 because of their work and workplace, they were stigmatized due to their illnesses, they lost their health due to COVID-19, and they had concerns that some health problems would not pass. However, they stated that they had a shortage of personal protective equipment at the beginning, they did not receive training on the subject, and the risk of being infected with COVID-19 was high due to the excessive working hours. Healthcare workers suffering from COVID-19 have experienced the infection physically and mentally in a very severe way. 

Anahtar Kelimeler

• Coronavirus
• COVID-19
• health-care workers
• Coronavirus, COVID-19, health-care workers

COVID-19 ile Enfekte Olan Sağlık Çalışanlarının Kalitatif Değerlendirilmesi

Öz

Bu çalışmanın amacı, bir pandemi hastanesinde çalışan ve COVID-19 ile enfekte olan sağlık çalışanlarının, etkeni alma nedenleri, hastalık süreci ve çalıştıkları ortamdaki risklere ilişkin düşünce ve görüşlerini belirlemektir. Bu araştırma nitel tanımlayıcı bir araştırma olarak tasarlanmıştır. Türkiye’de bir pandemi hastanesinde çalışmakta olan ve COVID-19 ile enfekte olan 14 sağlık çalışanı ile Haziran-Temmuz 2020 tarihleri arasında yürütülmüş olan kalitatif bir çalışmadır. Veriler, araştırmacı tarafından, çalışmanın amaçları doğrultusunda oluşturulan yarı yapılandırılmış, derinlemesine görüşme formu ile yüz yüze görüşülerek toplanmıştır. Araştırmada pandemi sürecinde sağlık çalışanı olarak COVID-19 un sağlık üzerine negatif etkileri, COVID-19’a yakalanma nedeni ile ilgili düşünceler ve COVID-19 hastalık sürecinde yaşananlar ve etkileri başlığı altında üç ana tema belirlenmiştir. Yapılan görüşmelerde sağlık çalışanları yaptıkları iş ve işyerinden dolayı COVID-19’a yakalandıkları, hastalıkları nedeniyle damgalandıklarını, COVID-19’a bağlı olarak sağlıklarını kaybettiklerini ve bazı sağlık sorunlarının geçmeyeceğine ilişkin kaygılarının olduğunu belirtmişlerdir. Bununla birlikte başlangıçta kişisel koruyucu malzeme sıkıntısı yaşadıklarını, konu ile ilgili eğitim almadıklarını ve çalışma saatlerinin fazla olması nedeniyle COVID-19 ile enfekte olma risklerinin fazla olduğunu ifade etmişlerdir. COVID-19 hastalığına yakalanmış olan sağlık çalışanları, enfeksiyonunu bedensel ve ruhsal olarak ağır bir şekilde yaşamışlardır.

Anahtar Kelimeler

• Coronavirus
• COVID-19
• health-care workers

Kaynakça

1. 1- Tan BY, Chew NWS, Lee GKH, et al. Psychological impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on health care workers in Singapore. Annals of Internal Medicine 2020; 6: M20-1083.
2. 2- Ng K, Poon BH, Puar THK, et al. COVID-19 and the risk to health care workers: a case report. Annals of Internal Medicine 2020. 4.
3. 3- Zhu N, Zhang D, Wang W, A novel coronavirus from patients with pneumonia in China,2019. N Engl J Med 2020;382:-727-733.
4. 4- Ghebreyesus TA. Keep health workers safe to keep patients safe: WHO. 2020. Available from: https://www.dw.com/en/coronavirus-latest-who-says-health-workers-account-for-10-of-global-infections/a-54208221).
5. 5- Koca F. Sağlık Bakanı Coronavirüs Basın Açıklaması. Available from:: https://www.medimagazin.com.tr/hekim/saglik-bak/tr-saglik-bakani-pozitif-saglik-calisani-sayisi-40-bini-gecti-hayatini-kaybeden-sayisi-da-107-2-13-91791.html
6. 6- Bartoszko JJ, Malik Farooqi MA, et al. Medical masks vs N95 respirators for preventing COVID-19 in health-care workers: A systematic review and meta-analysis of randomized trials. Influenza Other Respi Viruses 2020; 1–9.
7. 7- Internationa Council Nursing (ICN) 28 October 2020. Revived from: 30.10.2020. Available from: https://www.icn.ch/news/icn-confirms-1500-nurses-have-died-covid-19-44-countries-and-estimates-health-care-worker-covid.
8. 8- Polit DF, Beck CT. Nursing Research: Generating and Assessing Evidence for Nursing Practice, 10th Edition.Wolters Kluwer. 2017, 784. Philadelphia.

9. 9- Ren SY, Gao RD, Chen LY. Cases ar can be more harmful than the severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 in controlling the corona virus disease 2019 epidemic. World J Clin Cases 2020; 8(4):652-657.
10. 10- Shigemura J, Ursano RJ, Morganstein JC, et al. Public responses to the novel 2019 coronavirus (2019‐nCoV) in Japan: Mental health consequences and target populations. Psychiatry Clin Neurosci. 2020;74(4):281-282.
11. 11- Adams JG. Walls RM, Supporting the health careworkforce during the covıd-19 global epidemic. JAMA 2020; 21, 323 (15): 1439-1440.
12. 12- Holland M, Zaloga DJ, Friderici CS. COVID-19 Personal protective equipment (ppe) for the emergency physician. Vis J Emerg Med 2020; 20:100742.1-5.
13. 13- Lu H, Stratton CW, Tang YW. Outbreak of pneumonia of unknown etiology in Wuhan China: the mystery and the miracle. J Med Virol 2020; 92: 401-402.
14. 14- Wang D, Hu B, Hu C, et al. Clinical characteristics of 138 hospitalized patients with 2019 novel coronavirus-infected pneumonia in Wuhan, China. JAMA 2020; 323(11):1061-1069.
15. 15- World Health Organization (WHO). Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) Situation. 2020.
16. 16- Zhao HM, Xie YX, Wang C. Recommendations for respiratory rehabilitation in adults with coronavirus disease 2019. Chinese Medical Journal 2020; 133(13), 1595-1602.
17. 17- Şahin Akboğa Ö. New type coronavirus (COVID-19) outbreak. Ordu University J Nurs Stud 2020; 3(2), 153-162.
18. 18- Zhao JP, Hu Y, Du RH, et al. Expert consensus on the use of corticosteroid in patients with 2019-nCoV pneumonia. Zhonghua jie he he hu xi za zhi= Zhonghua jiehe he huxi zazhi= Chinese. Journal of tuberculosis and respiratory diseases, 2020; 43(3), 183-184.
19. 19- Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA). Guidance on Preparing Workplaces for COVID-19. wwwoshagov› Publications› OSHA3990. 4-2020. Available from: https://www.osha.gov/Publications/OSHA3990.pdf).
20. 20- Koh D. Occupational risks for COVID-19 infection. Occup Med (Lond) 2020;70:3–5.
21. 21- Turkish Thoracic Society (TORAKS). Covid-19 infection is a work-related disease for health-care workers. (Covıd-19 enfeksiyonu sağlık çalışanları yönünden işten kaynaklanan hastalıktır). (In Turkish) Available from: https://www.toraks.org.tr/userfiles/file/Rapor(2).pdf).
22. 22- Uğraş Dikmen, A, Kına M, Özkan S, et al. COVID-19 Epidemiyolojisi: pandemiden ne öğrendik. Journal of Biotechnology and Strategic Health Research 2020; 4:29-36.