Double distress: women healthcare providers and moral distress during COVID-19.

Background: COVID-19 pandemic has led to heightened moral distress among healthcare providers. Despite evidence of gendered differences in experiences, there is limited feminist analysis of moral distress.Objectives: To identify types of moral distress among women healthcare providers during the COVID-19 pandemic; to explore how feminist political economy might be integrated into the study of moral distress.Research Design: This research draws on interviews and focus groups, the transcripts of which were analyzed using framework analysis.Research Participants and Context: 88 healthcare providers, based in British Columbia Canada, participated virtually.Ethical Considerations: The study received ethical approval from Simon Fraser University.Findings: Healthcare providers experienced moral dilemmas related to ability to provide quality and compassionate care while maintaining COVID-19 protocols. Moral constraints were exacerbated by staffing shortages and lack of access to PPE. Moral conflicts emerged when women tried to engage decision-makers to improve care, and moral uncertainty resulted from lack of clear and consistent information. At home, women experienced moral constraints related to inability to support children's education and wellbeing. Moral conflicts related to lack of flexible work environments and moral dilemmas developed between unpaid care responsibilities and COVID-19 risks. Women healthcare providers resisted moral residue and structural constraints by organizing for better working conditions, childcare, and access to PPE, engaging mental health support and drawing on professional pride.Discussion: COVID-19 has led to new and heightened experiences of moral distress among HCP in response to both paid and unpaid care work. While many of the experiences of moral distress at work were not explicitly gendered, implicit gender norms structured moral events. Women HCP had to take it upon themselves to organize, seek out resources, and resist moral residue.Conclusion: A feminist political economy lens illuminates how women healthcare providers faced and resisted a double layering of moral distress during the pandemic.

'Forgotten as first line providers': The experiences of midwives during the COVID-19 pandemic in British Columbia, Canada.

OBJECTIVE: To explore midwives' experiences working on the frontlines of the COVID-19 pandemic in British Columbia, Canada. DESIGN: Qualitative study involving three semi-structured focus groups and four in-depth interviews with midwives. SETTING: The COVID-19 pandemic in British Columbia, Canada from 2020-2021. PARTICIPANTS: 13 midwives working during the first year of the COVID-19 pandemic in British Columbia. FINDINGS: Qualitative analysis surfaced four key themes. First, midwives faced a substantial lack of support during the pandemic. Second, insufficient support was compounded by a lack of recognition. Third, participants felt a strong duty to continue providing high-quality care despite COVID-19 related restrictions and challenges. Lastly, lack of support, increased workloads, and moral distress exacerbated burnout among midwives and raised concerns around the sustainability of their profession. KEY CONCLUSIONS AND IMPLICATIONS FOR PRACTICE: Lack of effective support for midwives during the initial months of the COVID-19 pandemic exacerbated staffing shortages that existed prior to the pandemic, creating detrimental gaps in essential care for pregnant people, especially with increasing demands for homebirths. Measures to support midwives should combat inequities in the healthcare system, mitigating the risks of disease exposure, burnout, and professional and financial impacts that may have long-lasting implications on the profession. Given the crucial role of midwives in women- and people-centred care and advocacy, protecting midwives and the communities they serve should be prioritized and integrated into pandemic preparedness and response planning to preserve women's health and rights around the world.

Women healthcare workers' experiences during COVID-19 and other crises: A scoping review.

BACKGROUND: Throughout the COVID-19 pandemic, as measures have been taken to both prevent the spread of COVID-19 and provide care to those who fall ill, healthcare workers have faced added risks to their health and wellbeing. These risks are disproportionately felt by women healthcare workers, yet health policies do not always take a gendered approach. OBJECTIVES: The objective of this review was to identify the gendered effects of crises on women healthcare workers' health and wellbeing, as well as to provide guidance for decision-makers on health systems policies and programs that could better support women healthcare workers. METHODS: A scoping review of published academic literature was conducted. PubMed, EMBASE, and CINAHL were searched using combinations of relevant medical subject headings and keywords. Data was extracted using a thematic coding framework. Seventy-six articles met the inclusion criteria. RESULTS: During disease outbreaks women healthcare workers were found to experience: a higher risk of exposure and infection; barriers to accessing personal protective equipment; increased workloads; decreased leadership and decision-making opportunities; increased caregiving responsibilities in the home when schools and childcare supports were restricted; and higher rates of mental ill-health, including depression, anxiety, and post-traumatic stress disorder. There was a lack of attention paid to gender and the health workforce during times of crisis prior to COVID-19, and there is a substantial gap in research around the experiences of women healthcare workers in low- and middle-income countries during times of crises. CONCLUSION: COVID-19 provides an opportunity to develop gender-responsive crisis preparedness plans within the health sector. Without consideration of gender, crises will continue to exacerbate existing gender disparities, resulting in disproportionate negative impacts on women healthcare workers. The findings point to several important recommendations to better support women healthcare workers, including: workplace mental health support, economic assistance to counteract widening pay gaps, strategies to support their personal caregiving duties, and interventions that support and advance women's careers and increase their representation in leadership roles.