Attitudes and Feelings towards the Work of Teachers Who Had a School Nurse in Their Educational Center during the COVID-19 Pandemic.

The objective of this study was to analyze the influence of the availability of a health professional on the beliefs, attitudes, and work feelings of teaching staff when facing the COVID-19 pandemic. This is a two-phase study: In the first one, the Delphi technique was used to update an instrument used by the authors in a previous investigation in 2020. The second phase was a cross-sectional, descriptive, and comparative study, carried out through an electronic questionnaire distributed among the teaching staff of the Autonomous Community of the Canary Islands (Spain), during the first two months of the 2021/22 academic year, in the midst of the fifth wave of COVID-19. Data were analyzed using Pearson's chi-squared test and the linear trend test. The reasons for advantages were analyzed and the dimensions of the questionnaire were compared between the groups studied (with or without a healthcare professional in the center). Out of 640 teachers in the study, 14.7% (n = 94) stated that they had a reference professional with health training in their educational center (a school nurse) for the management of possible cases of COVID-19. Significant differences were found in five of the nine dimensions studied between the groups of teachers analyzed. Teachers who had a health professional, specifically a nurse, during the pandemic indicated that they felt safer in their educational center, as they perceived that they had more personal protective equipment (OR = 2.03, [95% CI: 1.23-3.35]; p = 0.006). They were also more committed (OR = 1.89, [95% CI: 1.04-3.46]; p = 0.038) with their educational work and assumed more obligations (OR = 1.87, [95% CI: 1.01-3.44]; p = 0.045) and risks (OR = 2.82, [95% CI: 1.13-7.07]; p = 0.027). In addition, they presented fewer feelings of burnout (OR = 0.63, [95% CI: 0.41-0.98]; p = 0.041). These results indicate that having nurses in educational centers improves teachers' ability to cope with a pandemic situation.

The Need for Psychological Support of Health Workers during the COVID-19 Pandemic and the Influence on Their Work.

The aim of this research was to analyze how the need for psychological support of health workers (HCWs) influenced the beliefs, perceptions and attitudes towards their work during the COVID-19 pandemic and to predict the need of psychological assistance. A descriptive transversal study was conducted based on a self-administered questionnaire distributed to health professionals working in the Canary Islands, Spain. The data were analyzed using Pearson's chi-squared test and the linear trend test. The correlation test between ordinal and frequency variables was applied using Kendall's Tau B. Multiple logistic regression was used to predict dichotomous variables. The sample included 783 health professionals: 17.8% (n = 139) of them needed psychological or psychiatric support. Being redeployed to other services influenced the predisposition to request psychological help, and HCWs who required psychological support had more negative attitudes and perceptions towards their work. After five waves of COVID-19, these HCWs reported to be physically, psychologically and emotionally exhausted or even "burned out"; they did not feel supported by their institutions. The commitment of health personnel to fight against the COVID-19 pandemic decreased after the five waves, especially among professionals who required psychological support.

Attitudes and beliefs of Spanish healthcare professionals during the COVID-19 pandemic.

During the COVID-19 pandemic, healthcare professionals are taking the risk of becoming infected or infecting their families. Spain is the country with the highest number of infected healthcare professionals worldwide. Our aim was to study the attitudes and beliefs of these professionals during the current pandemic. Descriptive study conducted by using an online questionnaire-based on an earlier one-which was sent to healthcare professionals at the national level, during the week March 20-27, 2020. Healthcare professionals returned 971 completed questionnaires. A total of 803 (82.7%) participants thought that they did not have suitable PPEs (Personal Protective Equipment) to protect them from infection with COVID-19. In addition, even 229 (23.58%) agreed to go on working even if they were not. In spite of this, 606 (62.4%) of them were ready to work, even with a higher-than-usual risk of becoming infected at work and getting ill. Remarkably high professional commitment has been observed among Spanish healthcare workers in the current pandemic. They were ready to work even when many of them considered that they did not have suitable PPEs, and were thus taking a higher than usual infection risk. However, they put the health of their relatives before their duties at work.

[Beliefs and attitudes of health workers and nursing students toward an influenza pandemic in a region of Spain]. / Creencias y actitudes de trabajadores sanitarios y estudiantes de enfermería de una región de España ante una pandemia de gripe.

A survey was carried out during March-May 2017 to analyze the beliefs and attitudes of health workers and nursing students in the face of an influenza pandemic in Las Palmas de Gran Canaria, Spain. A high percentage doubted that there is a vaccine to protect them against an influenza pandemic, although workers showed greater certainty than students concerning access to a vaccine. Health workers showed themselves as more responsible for their work than students; i.e., 46.7% would be in favor of penalizing anyone who refused to go to work because there is a high percentage that put work before their responsibility toward themselves and their families. In conclusion, this study suggests promoting initiatives for reducing absenteeism, identifying those factors that would facilitate it, and having a contingency plan prepared in the event of an influenza pandemic.

Con el objetivo de analizar las creencias y actitudes de trabajadores sanitarios y estudiantes de enfermería de Las Palmas de Gran Canaria en España ante una pandemia por gripe, se aplicó una encuesta durante marzo-mayo del 2017. Un alto porcentaje duda que exista una vacuna que les proteja ante una pandemia por gripe aunque los trabajadores muestran mayor seguridad con respecto al acceso a una vacuna que los estudiantes, los trabajadores sanitarios manifestaron una mayor responsabilidad ante su trabajo que los estudiantes, así un 46,7% estaría de acuerdo en sancionar al que se negase a ir a trabajar, debido a que existe un alto porcentaje lo anteponen a su responsabilidad para sí y su familia. En conclusión, se sugiere la promoción de iniciativas encaminadas a reducir el absentismo, identificando aquellos factores que lo facilitarían y tener preparado un plan de contingencia ante una pandemia por gripe.

Creencias y actitudes de trabajadores sanitarios y estudiantes de enfermería de una región de España ante una pandemia de gripe / Beliefs and attitudes of health workers and nursing students toward an influenza pandemic in a region of Spain

RESUMEN Con el objetivo de analizar las creencias y actitudes de trabajadores sanitarios y estudiantes de enfermería de Las Palmas de Gran Canaria en España ante una pandemia por gripe, se aplicó una encuesta durante marzo-mayo del 2017. Un alto porcentaje duda que exista una vacuna que les proteja ante una pandemia por gripe aunque los trabajadores muestran mayor seguridad con respecto al acceso a una vacuna que los estudiantes, los trabajadores sanitarios manifestaron una mayor responsabilidad ante su trabajo que los estudiantes, así un 46,7% estaría de acuerdo en sancionar al que se negase a ir a trabajar, debido a que existe un alto porcentaje lo anteponen a su responsabilidad para sí y su familia. En conclusión, se sugiere la promoción de iniciativas encaminadas a reducir el absentismo, identificando aquellos factores que lo facilitarían y tener preparado un plan de contingencia ante una pandemia por gripe.

ABSTRACT A survey was carried out during March-May 2017 to analyze the beliefs and attitudes of health workers and nursing students in the face of an influenza pandemic in Las Palmas de Gran Canaria, Spain. A high percentage doubted that there is a vaccine to protect them against an influenza pandemic, although workers showed greater certainty than students concerning access to a vaccine. Health workers showed themselves as more responsible for their work than students; i.e., 46.7% would be in favor of penalizing anyone who refused to go to work because there is a high percentage that put work before their responsibility toward themselves and their families. In conclusion, this study suggests promoting initiatives for reducing absenteeism, identifying those factors that would facilitate it, and having a contingency plan prepared in the event of an influenza pandemic.