ABSTRACT
During the COVID-19 pandemic, repeated exposure of health care workers to unpre-dictable challenges in practice can affect their professional quality of life. The objectives of this study were to assess professional quality of life among healthcare workers during the COVID-19 pandemic and to investigate the relationships between professional quality of life and resi-lience. We conducted a cross-sectional, descriptive, and analytical study, carried out in October and November 2020, among 250 health professionals, practicing in Tunisia. Data were collec-ted through an online questionnaire distributed on social networks. We used the "Professional Quality of Life Scale-5" to assess professional quality of life and the "Brief Resilience Scale"to assess resilience. Compassion satisfaction was low to moderate in 77.6% of participants. Most participants (90.4%) had moderate burnout. Compassion fatigue was low to moderate in 98% of cases. Healthcare professionals with higher resilience scores had significantly higher compassion satisfaction scores, and significantly lower burnout and compassion fatigue scores. In addition, higher burnout scores were associated with significantly lower compassion satisfac-tion scores and significantly higher compassion fatigue scores. These associations were found after multivariate analysis using multiple linear regression. Our results highlight the altered professional quality of life among healthcare workers during the COVID-19 pandemic. Imme-diate interventions are essential to improve psychological resilience and build health systems capacity.
ABSTRACT
BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVES: Stigma was a major issue during the COVID-19 pandemic. It posed a serious threat to the lives of healthcare workers (HCWs) who were expected to experience higher levels of stigma and increased psychological distress. This is the first survey to investigate forms and correlates of perceived stigma in Tunisian HCWs during the COVID-19 pandemic. METHODS: A cross-sectional web-based survey was conducted between October 8th and November 10th 2020, among 250 Tunisian HCWs. Data were collected using an online questionnaire using the Google Forms® platform. We used a self-reported instrument measuring COVID-19-related stigma, and the Multidimensional Scale of Perceived Social Support (MSPSS) to measure the perceived adequacy of social support from three sources: family, friends, and significant other. RESULTS: The mean stigma score was 18.6±8. Participants sometimes to often experienced stigma in their relationships with friends (22%), neighbors (27.2%), parents (22,4%), and in social activities (30.8%). This stigma was perceived mainly through avoidance (68.4%), and rarely through verbal (6%) or physical aggression (1.2%). The mean MSPSS total score was 5.26±1.24. In multivariate analysis, depression history (P<0.001), long working experience (P<0.001), having presented ageusia/anosmia (P=0.007) and lower total social support scale (P<0.001) were significantly associated with higher perceived stigma score. CONCLUSION: Our findings showed that HCWs perceived stigma in professional, societal and familial domains. Social support from family, friends and others seemed to protect against perceived stigma. Proper health education targeting the public appears to be an effective method to prevent social harassment of both HCWs and COVID-19 survivors.
ABSTRACT
During the COVID-19 pandemic, repeated exposure of health care workers to unpredictable challenges in practice can affect their professional quality of life. The objectives of this study were to assess professional quality of life among healthcare workers during the COVID-19 pandemic and to investigate the relationships between professional quality of life and resilience. We conducted a cross-sectional, descriptive, and analytical study, carried out in October and November 2020, among 250 health professionals, practicing in Tunisia. Data were collected through an online questionnaire distributed on social networks. We used the “Professional Quality of Life Scale-5” to assess professional quality of life and the “Brief Resilience Scale” to assess resilience. Compassion satisfaction was low to moderate in 77.6% of participants. Most participants (90.4%) had moderate burnout. Compassion fatigue was low to moderate in 98% of cases. Healthcare professionals with higher resilience scores had significantly higher compassion satisfaction scores, and significantly lower burnout and compassion fatigue scores. In addition, higher burnout scores were associated with significantly lower compassion satisfaction scores and significantly higher compassion fatigue scores. These associations were found after multivariate analysis using multiple linear regression. Our results highlight the altered professional quality of life among healthcare workers during the COVID-19 pandemic. Immediate interventions are essential to improve psychological resilience and build health systems capacity. © 2022 Elsevier Masson SAS
ABSTRACT
Résumé La pandémie à COVID-19 a mis à rude épreuve les systèmes de santé partout dans le monde. L’exposition répétée des professionnels de la santé à des défis imprévisibles dans la pratique pourrait retentir sur leur qualité de vie professionnelle.Les objectifs de cette étude étaient d’évaluer la qualité de vie professionnelle chez les professionnels de santé au cours de la pandémie du COVID-19 et d’étudier la nature des liens entre les différentes composantes de la qualité de vie professionnelle et la résilience. Notre étude est de type transversal, descriptif et analytique. Elle a été réalisée aux mois d’octobre et novembre 2020, auprès de 250 professionnels de santé, exerçant en Tunisie. Les données ont été collectées au moyen d’un questionnaire en ligne diffusé sur les réseaux sociaux. Nous avons utilisé l’échelle « The Professional Quality of Life Scale–5 » pour évaluer la qualité de vie professionnelle et l’échelle « Brief Resilience Scale » pour évaluer la résilience. La satisfaction de compassion était faible à moyenne chez 77,6% des participants. La plupart des participants (90,4%) présentaient un burnout moyen. La fatigue de compassion était faible ou moyenne chez 98% des participants. Les professionnels de santé ayant des scores plus élevés de résilience avaient des scores de satisfaction de compassion significativement plus élevés, et des scores de burnout et d’usure de compassion significativement moins élevés. Ces mêmes associations ont été retrouvées après analyse multivariée par régression linéaire multiple.Nos résultats mettent en exergue l’altération de la qualité de vie professionnelle chez les professionnels de santé au cours de la pandémie du COVID-19. Des interventions immédiates sont essentielles pour améliorer la résilience psychologique et renforcer les capacités des systèmes de santé.