Mental health and coping strategies of Filipino healthcare workers during the COVID-19 pandemic

Objectives@#This study aimed to determine the mental health of Filipino healthcare workers (HCWs) in terms of their feelings and ability to cope during the COVID-19 pandemic and the factors that motivated them to continue their work. @*Methods and Results@#This was a cross-sectional, descriptive survey, single-center study, conducted in Perpetual Succour Hospital, Cebu City, Philippines, within 3 months from the declaration of the COVID-19 pandemic. Of the 215 respondents, almost 50% thought of quitting their job due to fear of getting infected with COVID-19 and transmitting the disease to their families. Ninety-four percent (94%) of HCWs were nervous and scared and 85% were experiencing physical fatigue and emotional exhaustion. Despite all these, 97% of HCWs felt that their service during the pandemic was part of their professional obligation and ethical duty. HCWs coped with the present pandemic by strictly following safety protocols and the assurance of the safety of their families helped reduce their stress. Family support is their most important source of motivation.@*Conclusion@#Filipino HCWs experience physical and emotional stress during the COVID-19 pandemic but were motivated to work because of their professional obligation with an assurance of safety and support from their family.

Convalescent Plasma Therapy in Filipino patients with confirmed COVID-19 infection in a tertiary hospital in Cebu City: A retrospective cohort single center study

Introduction@#Convalescent plasma therapy (CPT) is a type of experimental passive immunotherapy with a sizable background in viral outbreaks. Although there has been documented favorable outcomes in using CPT in the treatment of viral illnesses, its use in COVID-19 is still experimental.@*Objectives@#To determine if adding convalescent plasma to standard of care is associated with better clinical outcomes than giving standard of care alone to severe and critical COVID-19 patients admitted in a tertiary hospital in Cebu City.@*Methods@#This is a retrospective cohort study conducted in a tertiary hospital in Cebu between March to September 2020. The data of a total of 22 COVID-19 patients who received convalescent plasma therapy plus standard treatment regimen based on the institution's interim guideline were identified by chart review. The demographic information, laboratory results, management and outcome data from this group were collated, matched with and compared to 43 critically ill COVID-19 patients who received COVID-19 standard treatment regimen only.@*Results@#Both the CPT and non-CPT groups are comparable in terms of the socio-clinical variables, inflammatory marker levels, laboratory test results and therapeutic interventions. However, there is no relationship between the level of inflammatory markers and the illness day to which CPT was given. Additionally, the outcomes also differ significantly in terms of duration of admission, severity of illness, critical care support and mortalities. The control group has shorter hospital admissions, more patients with critical illness and more mortalities. The intervention arm, however, has more recoveries but longer duration of critical care.@*Conclusion@#Convalescent Plasma Therapy added to standard treatment is not associated with improved clinical outcomes among Filipino patients with severe or life-threatening COVID-19 infection admitted in a tertiary hospital in Cebu City.

Professional fulfillment: concept and instrument proposition / Realização profissional: proposição de conceito e instrumento / Realización profesional: propuesta de concepto y instrumento

This paper aims to propose a concept and an instrument of professional fulfillment (PF), which is theoretically defined as the perception of having attained or being on the right track for attaining one's most important career goals. The Professional Fulfillment Scale (PFS) was developed in order to operationalize PF, being tested across two studies. Regarding Study 1, in which 406 workers took part, results from exploratory factor analysis evidenced construct validity for PFS. In Study 2, in which 270 workers took part, results from confirmatory factor analysis and structural equation modeling presented satisfactory model fit indices for PFS. We conclude that both the professional fulfillment concept and the scale are useful for mapping people's importance and achievement of career goals and evaluation of progress, working as a diagnostic tool for career management. (AU)

O presente artigo visa propor um conceito e um instrumento de realização profissional (RP), definida teoricamente como a percepção de se ter alcançado as metas de carreira mais importantes ou a avaliação positiva de que se está no caminho para alcançar tais metas. A Escala de Realização Profissional (PFS) foi desenvolvida para operacionalizar a RP, sendo sua estrutura testada em dois estudos. No Estudo 1, no qual participaram 406 trabalhadores, resultados da análise fatorial exploratória evidenciaram a validade de construto da PFS. No Estudo 2, no qual participaram 270 trabalhadores, os resultados oriundos da análise fatorial confirmatória e da modelagem por equações estruturais indicaram que a PFS apresenta índices de ajuste do modelo satisfatórios. Conclui-se que tanto o conceito de realização profissional quanto a PFS são úteis para mapear o grau de importância, alcance e progresso das metas de carreira, funcionando como ferramenta de diagnóstico para o gerenciamento de carreira. (AU)

El presente artículo tiene como objetivo proponer un concepto y un instrumento de realización profesional (RP), la cual se define teóricamente como la percepción de haber alcanzado las metas más importantes de la carrera o la evaluación positiva de que se está en camino de lograrlas. La Escala de Realización Profesional (ERP) fue desarrollada para operacionalizar la RP, siendo su estructura puesta a prueba en dos estudios. En el estudio 1, en el cual participaron 406 trabajadores, los resultados del análisis factorial exploratorio mostraron validez de constructo de la ERP. En el estudio 2, en el que participaron 270 trabajadores, los resultados provenientes del análisis factorial confirmatorio y del modelado por ecuaciones estructurales, indicaron que la ERP presenta índices de ajuste de modelo, satifactorios. Como conclusión podemos decir que tanto el concepto como el instrumento de la ERP, son útiles para asignar el grado de importancia, alcance y progreso de las metas de la carrera, funcionando como una herramienta de diagnóstico para la gestión de la misma. (AU)