Psychological distress among Iranian health-care providers exposed to coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19): a qualitative study.

BACKGROUND: Novel corona virus, named COVID-19, has spread rapidly to other countries like Italy, Iran and South Korea and affected all people, especially health-care providers. Therefore, due to the rapid spread of the disease in Iran, the aim of the present study was to explore psychological distress experienced by Iranian health-care providers in the first few weeks of the corona virus outbreak. METHODS: The present qualitative study was conducted on 18 Iranian health-care providers exposed to COVID - 19 using a content analysis method. Purposeful sampling was used to select the participants and continued until data saturation was reached. Data were collected using semi-structured interviews and then the qualitative data were analyzed through direct content analysis. RESULTS: By analyzing 236 primary codes, two main categories were extracted from the experiences of health-care providers during corona virus outbreak. The first category included Occupational demands with three sub-categories: nature of illness, Organizational demands and social demands. The second category was Supportive resources included personal support and social support. CONCLUSIONS: The results of this study found that there were some barriers and challenges to medical personnel exposed to COVID-19 that caused psychological distress. Some of these problems related to the nature of illness, others related to social and organizational demands and some of supportive resources buffer the relationship between occupational demands and psychological distress.

The effect of psychological first-aid virtual education on the communication skills of nurses in disasters: a randomized controlled trial.

BACKGROUND: Disasters have affected the physical and mental health of people around the world. Since nurses are frontlines in disasters, it seems necessary to prepare for this responsibility. This study investigates the effect of psychological first-aid virtual education on the communication skills of nurses in disasters such as COVID pandemic. METHODS: In a randomized controlled trial, 55 nurses were selected by purposive sampling method from two hospitals in Isfahan and Tehran, Iran in December-November 2022 and randomly replaced in the intervention group who participated in psychological first aid virtual training and control group. The data were collected through the personal information form and Communication Skills -Test-Revised (CSTR). RESULTS: Two groups were homogeneous in terms of communication skills (p = 0.177), the total score of communication skills was significant between the two groups after the intervention (p < 0.0001). Regarding communication skills, in the pre-intervention phase, the subscale of "the ability to receive and send messages" and "insight into the communication process" the difference before the intervention was not significant between the two groups (p > 0.05). However, it was significant between the two groups after the intervention (p < 0.05), and regarding "emotional control", "listening skills", and "communication along with assertiveness" the difference before and after the intervention was not significant between the two groups (p > 0.05). CONCLUSION: Pre-disaster training and virtual education can increase nurses' communication skills in their ability to handle a disaster such as COVID pandemic. Virtual education of post-disaster psychological interventions is suggested. TRIAL REGISTRATION: IRCT20220923056023N1; date: 2023-01-31.

A concept analysis of transitional care for people with cancer.

AIM: Transitional care as the journey between different caregivers in multiple healthcare centres is crucial for the provision of care to people with cancer, but it is often complex and poorly coordinated. This study aimed to analyse the concept of transitional care for people with cancer. DESIGN: Rodgers' evolutionary concept analysis. METHODS: A systematic literature search was conducted on the databases of PubMed (including MEDLINE), EMBASE, Scopus and Web of Science to retrieve articles published between 2000 and 2022. RESULTS: Twenty-nine eligible articles were selected and their findings were classified in terms of related concepts and alternative terms, antecedents, attributes and consequences. Attributes included three main categories, namely 'nurse-related attributes', 'organisation-related attributes' and 'patient-related attributes'. Antecedents of transitional care for people with cancer were categorized into two main categories: 'patient-related antecedents' and 'caregiver-related antecedents'. Consequences were categorized into 'psychological consequences' and 'objective consequences'.

Psychological impacts of the COVID-19 on health care providers.

BACKGROUND: Psychological distress, functional impairment, reduced quality of life, and subjective well-being were the most common negative psychological effects during the COVID-19 outbreak. The present study was to investigate the impact of job stress, hospital resources, and fear of infection on job burnout of medical staff in Iran during the Covid-19 pandemic. MATERIALS AND METHODS: In this cross-sectional study, 223 hospital staff from several public and private hospitals in Tehran and Mazandaran provinces, selected through convenience sampling. The questionnaire included the validated "Maslach Burnout Inventory (MBI)", "job stress scale (Parker and DeCotiis, 1983)", and the questions about "hospital resources", and "fear of infection" developed by the researcher wereused to collect data. Data were analyzed by correlation and regression methods using SPSS software. RESULTS: The results revealed that there was a significant difference in the scores on the burnout scale, in the dimension of emotional exhaustion, but the differences were not significant in the dimensions of depersonalization and self-accomplishment. Also, job stress and fear of infection significantly correlated with job burnout in the dimensions of emotional exhaustion and personal-accomplishment. However, the correlation between the adequacy of hospital resources and job burnout in these two dimensions was not significant. None of the three variables of the study showed a significant correlation with the dimension of depersonalization. CONCLUSION: It is essential to consider the package of psychological interventions which, primarily includes finding the sources of stress to resolve them through stress management programs, based on education and training in stress coping and management strategies.

Effectiveness of Psychological First Aid E-learning on the Competence and Empathy of Nurses in Disasters: A Randomized Controlled Trial.

OBJECTIVE: This study aimed to determine the effect of psychological first-aid (PFA) E-learning on the competence and empathy of nurses in disasters. METHODS: In a randomized controlled trial, 50 nurses were randomly assigned to 2 intervention and control groups, and psychological first-aid training sessions were implemented for the intervention group. The data were collected using the personal information form, a researcher-made questionnaire to measure competence, and the Davis Empathy Questionnaire. RESULTS: Two groups were homogeneous in terms of competency (P = 0.691) and empathy (P = 0.363) in the preintervention phase. The intervention group had more competence in the next stage than before the intervention (P < 0.0001). In the post-intervention phase, the intervention group had more competence compared with the control group (P < 0.0001). The overall effect size of PFA E-learning training on the nurses' competency was 1.9. Regarding empathy, in the post-intervention phase, the subscale of personal distress (P = 0.014) was significantly lower in the intervention group and the perspective-taking subscale was higher than in the control group (P < 0.0001). However, there was no significant difference between the groups in terms of all scores of empathy and the subscale of empathic concern (P > 0.05). The overall effect size of PFA E-learning training on the nurses' empathy was 0.44. CONCLUSIONS: It is suggested to provide training, including a PFA E-learning model, for nurses and other therapists in disaster situations.

Psychological distress Management in Iranian emergency prehospital providers: A Qualitative study.

INTRODUCTION: Emergency prehospital providers (EPHP) who are constantly providing medical care in threatening conditions are more at risk of displaying psychological distress presentations in disaster situations. Problem-solving strategies are essential for effective and efficient management of event position. Therefore, the present study aimed to explore psychological distress promotion in Iranian EPHP. MATERIALS AND METHODS: A qualitative content analysis study was conducted based on 24 semi-structured interviews. A purposeful sampling method was applied until reaching data saturation. Interviews were transcribed verbatim, and then, data condensing, labeling, coding, and defining categories were performed by the qualitative content analysis recommended by the Landman and Graneheim approach. RESULTS: Based on the experience of study participants, two main themes with six categories developed. The main themes included emotion-based management and problem-based management when confronting with incidence scene. CONCLUSION: The main problems of EPHP in confronting with incidence and disasters scenes are psychological distress which some rescuers have emotional reactions while some others who are more resilience and experience manage this problem in the form of problem-based approach. It is recommended these practical strategies to be taught to less experienced rescuers for avoiding emotional-based reactions and better management of disaster scene.