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BACKGROUND: Nurses and social workers are two common professions with a university degree working within municipal nursing care and social welfare. Both groups have high turnover intention rates, and there is a need to better understand their quality of working life and turnover intentions in general and more specifically during the Covid-19 pandemic. This study investigated associations between working life, coping strategies and turnover intentions of staff with a university degree working within municipal care and social welfare during the Covid-19 pandemic. METHODS: A cross-sectional design; 207 staff completed questionnaires and data were analyzed using multiple linear regression analyses. RESULTS: Turnover intentions were common. For registered nurses 23% thought of leaving the workplace and 14% the profession 'rather often' and 'very often/always'. The corresponding figures for social workers were 22% (workplace) and 22% (profession). Working life variables explained 34-36% of the variance in turnover intentions. Significant variables in the multiple linear regression models were work-related stress, home-work interface and job-career satisfaction (both for the outcome turnover intentions profession and workplace) and Covid-19 exposure/patients (turnover intentions profession). For the chosen coping strategies, 'exercise', 'recreation and relaxation' and 'improving skills', the results (associations with turnover) were non-significant. However, comparing the groups social workers reported that they used 'recreation and relaxation' more often than were reported by registered nurses. CONCLUSIONS: More work-related stress, worse home-work interface and less job-career satisfaction together with Covid-19 exposure/patients (Covid-19 only for turnover profession) increase turnover intentions. Recommendations are that managers should strive for better home-work interface and job-career satisfaction, monitor and counteract work-related stress to prevent turnover intentions.
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Work-related stress has long been recognized as an essential factor affecting employees' health and wellbeing. Repeated exposure to acute occupational stressors puts workers at high risk for depression, obesity, hypertension, and early death. Assessment of the effects of acute stress on workers' wellbeing usually relies on subjective self-reports, questionnaires, or measuring biometric and biochemical markers in long-cycle time intervals. This study aimed to develop and validate the use of a multiparameter wearable armband for continuous non-invasive monitoring of physiological states. Two worker populations were monitored 24 h/day: six loggers for one day and six ICU nurses working 12-hr shifts for one week. Stress responses in nurses were highly correlated with changes in heart rate variability (HRV) and pulse transit time (PTT). A rise in the low-to high-frequency (LF/LH) ratio in HRV was also coincident with stress responses. HRV on workdays decreased compared to non-work days, and PTT also exhibited a persistent decrease reflecting increased blood pressure. Compared to loggers, nurses were involved in high-intensity work activities 45% more often but were less active on non-work days. The wearable technology was well accepted by all worker participants and yielded high signal quality, critical factors for long-term non-invasive occupational health monitoring.
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Mask detection plays a major role in the prevention and control of epidemics after the COVID-19 outbreak as it is the most practical and effective method of prevention. For the appropriate employees, a great automatic real-time face mask identification system based on deep learning can significantly lessen work-related stress. The systems for mask identification that are currently in use, however, are largely resource-intensive and do not strike a reasonable balance between speed and accuracy. In our system, the mask detector is SSD, and to extract the image's features and decrease a number of parameters, MobileNet takes the role of VGG-16. Pre-trained models from other domains are transferred to our model using transfer learning techniques. © 2023 IEEE.
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Law enforcement has been extensively documented as one of the most stressful occupations. With sudden disruptions due to the COVID-19 pandemic and the civil unrest following the murder of George Floyd in May 2020, new sources of stress (e.g., negative public interaction, risk of infection) have created unprecedented challenges for law enforcement. A large body of work has shown that the stressors experienced in law enforcement are associated with PTSD, suicidal ideation, and depression at a rate higher than the general population. However, much of the current stress literature focuses on sworn officers and largely overlooks the growing non-sworn population. This represents a significant public health concern with more than 300,000 civilians working in a non-sworn position. Despite the adverse impacts of stress being well-described among sworn officers, very little is known about the levels of stress within non-sworn personnel and how they compare to sworn officers. In addition to these knowledge gaps, work-related stress has largely been measured by surveys. While surveys provide valuable insight, they are subject to recall bias. Emerging research using cortisol has shown great promise in addressing survey limitations but remains mixed as to whether biomarkers correlate with stress.To address these knowledge gaps, this study used a mixed-methods approach to characterize work-related stress across two large urban Minnesota law enforcement departments. A total of 37 interviews explored novel stressors including barriers and facilitators to accessing mental health resources;417 surveys quantified the prevalence of work-related stressors and PTSD among sworn and non-sworn personnel;38 hair samples were collected to demonstrate the possibility of analyzing cortisol among a high-stressed occupation. The prevalence of PTSD symptomology was 24% among sworn and 39% among non-sworn personnel. Results indicated that mental health stigma was a perceived barrier to seeking help. Service providers familiar with law enforcement facilitated seeking help. Non-sworn respondents had lower organizational stress than sworn personnel. Responding to the civil unrest was particularly stressful for early-career non-sworn personnel. This study demonstrated the possibility of using hair samples in studies of stress within law enforcement. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2022 APA, all rights reserved)
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This paper aims to describe the effects of Technostress on employees' well-being and productivity. We adopted the Job Demands Resources Model as a theoretical framework to analyze the "Technostress" phenomenon in order to clarify whether and how technology can be considered a job demand, a job resource, or part of the effects of personal resources in the workplace. The sources search and selection process was conducted according to the PRISMA guidelines and regarded papers published from 2010 to 2022. Overall, the findings show that most selected papers consider ICT a job demand negatively affecting human behavior, thoughts, and attitudes. In contrast, some report that ICT acts as a job resource, thus reducing the impact of job demands and their physiological and psychological costs. Finally, a third category of studies does not consider the effects of ICT itself but gives more space to the interaction among ICT, the organizational context in which it is used, and the personal characteristics of ICT users. More specifically, the findings show how individual features and organizational procedures can shape the interpretations employees make about their ICT-related experiences at work and, consequently, their performance or well-being. Findings suggest that when ICT tools are strategically planned and used within organizations, they can enrich the employee experience at work, positively affecting the individual and the organizational level.
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BACKGROUND: Previous studies have shown that a disease outbreak may cause high stress among healthcare workers. However, the vast majority of those studies applied a variable-centered approach, in which relationships between the variables are believed to be identical across the studied population. The main purpose of this study was to identify latent profiles of healthcare workers with similar combinations of levels of various work-related stressors during the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic and to examine their predictors. METHODS: A cross-sectional paper-and-pencil study was conducted among a convenience sample of 297 emergency department (ED) nurses and 219 emergency medical services (EMS) staff members working in 10 hospital EDs and 52 EMS centers in Ardabil province, Iran. Data were collected using the Health and Safety Executive Management Standards Indicator Tool (HSE-MS IT). RESULTS: Using the latent profile analysis (LPA), five work-related stress profiles were identified: "high stress with a good understanding of one's job role" (11.1%), "moderate stress" (41.9%), "relatively high stress with average demands and a very low understanding of one's job role" (23.8%), "low stress" (18.0%), and "generally low stress but with very high job demands and relational conflicts" (5.2%). Age, marital status, service location, workplace, and the number of overtime hours significantly predicted profile membership. CONCLUSION: The results of the study suggest the importance of incorporating various sources of stress and using the person-centered approach when investigating the work-related stress of healthcare workers during disease outbreaks. Identifying sociodemographic and work-related predictors of profile membership may be useful for preparing interventions that will be better suited to healthcare workers' needs.
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Context: The COVID-19 pandemic has changed the structure of the healthcare system. As a response to the pandemic, the ministry of health applied many changes to the primary healthcare system. These changes created new challenges for healthcare workers (HCWs). Aims: To identify the roles and challenges of practitioners in primary healthcare (PHC) centers during COVID-19 in Al-Baha city, Saudi Arabia, in 2022. Methods and Materials: An analytical cross-sectional study was carried out in 2022 in Al-Baha city, Saudi Arabia. An electronic online questionnaire was distributed formally to HCWs in PHC centers. All primary HCWs during the COVID-19 pandemic in Al-Baha city, Saudi Arabia, were included. Results: A total of 424 responses were analyzed. Half (50.7%) of the participants had fieldwork roles during the pandemic. The two most commonly agreed-upon challenges were stress (78.7%) and worry about getting infected (79.8%). The majority (74.4%) of the participants' roles involved direct contact with suspected COVID-19 cases, whereas 50.9% involved direct contact with confirmed COVID-19 cases. Direct contact with confirmed cases showed a significant association with worrying about getting infected (P = 0.019). Conclusions: Workload, overtime, conflict ambiguity, fear of getting and transmitting the infection, stress, and lack of personal protective equipment were challenges faced by the primary HCWs, which negatively impacted the quality of delivered services and mental health. We recommend facilitating access of primary HCWs to psychiatric clinics to improve stress and help cope with new roles during the pandemics and changes in the healthcare system.
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The major focus of the study was the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on healthcare workers' mental health. Nurses are the workers who were exposed to pandemic-related stress, being the most affected. The present cross-sectional study was focused on finding out the differences of the level of work-related stress and quality of life in nurses of the three Central European states, specifically the Czech Republic, the Slovak Republic, and Poland. A structured anonymous online questionnaire was created, and then the link was distributed to the target population through executives. Data analysis was performed by using the R programme-version 4.1.3. The study found that nurses from the Czech Republic achieved lower stress levels and had a higher quality of life than nurses from Poland and Slovakia.
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COVID-19 , Nurses , Occupational Stress , Humans , Quality of Life , Pandemics , Prospective Studies , Cross-Sectional Studies , PerceptionABSTRACT
Due to unpredictable and demanding working circumstances and the significant potential for dangers and accidents, seafaring has been characterised as one of the world's riskiest and stressful vocations that lead to physical and mental health problems. However, very few instruments measure work-related stress, particularly in a seafaring context. None of the instruments are psychometrically sound. Therefore, a valid and reliable instrument to measure seafaring work-related stress is indispensable. This study aims to review work-related stress instruments and to explore the work-related stress construct among seafarers in Malaysia. This study uses a systematic review and semi-structured interviews across two phases. In Phase 1, we conducted a systematic review of several databases: Academic Search Ultimate, Emerald Journal Premier, Journal Storage (JSTOR), ScienceDirect, Springer Link, Taylor and Francis Online, and Wiley Online Library based on Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Review and Meta-analyses (PRISMA). In 8975 articles, only 4 (four) studies used psychological instruments and 5 (five) studies used survey questionnaires to measure work-related stress. In Phase 2, we conducted a semi-structured interview with 25 (twenty-five) seafarers, online due to COVID-19 restrictions. The semi-structured interview indicated 6 (six) themes, namely, physical stress, personal issues, social living onboard, technostress, work factors, and the effect of the COVID-19 pandemic. In conclusion, the present study has identified three psychometric instruments for measuring work-related stress among seafarers: The Psychological General Well-Being Index, Perceived Stress Scale, and Job Content Questionnaire. We also found psychometric elements in some of the instruments are questionable, such as theoretical basis, construct development, and inadequate internal consistency value. In addition, this study also found that work-related stress is a multidimensional construct that needs to be studied based on work contexts. The findings of this study can contribute to the body of knowledge of a work-related stress construct in a seafaring context and could help to inform policy makers in the maritime industry. This study suggests a psychological instrument to measure work-related stress among seafarers in future studies.
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COVID-19 , Occupational Stress , Humans , Psychometrics , Pandemics , Stress, PsychologicalABSTRACT
Over the past few years, COVID-19 pandemic has imposed a high toll worldwide, with a high burden of morbidity and mortality. Healthcare practitioners (HCPs) have been in the frontline since the beginning of the outbreak, and the high level of stress have affected their physical and mental status, as well as their relationships. We aimed at exploring the self-reported changes in comprehensive well-being in a cohort of Italian physicians. An online-based survey was administered to the members of the Italian Society of Internal Medicine (SIMI) between March and June 2021. The survey was based on 32 multiple-choice questions exploring self-reported physical and mental well-being, as well as changes in workloads, work-related feelings and physicians' relationship with patients, colleagues and families. 228 physicians (mean age: 35.7 ± 9.8 years) participated in the survey; 120 (52.6%) were residents, 196 (86.0%) worked in COVID-19 units and 65 (28.5%) had COVID-19 during the pandemic. A significant proportion of respondents reported to have experience onset or worsening of physical and mental symptoms, with insomnia/sleep disorders (58.3%) and mood swings (47.8%) being the most common, respectively. The burden of physical and mental consequences was broadly higher among residents compared to specialists, with the former reporting more frequently an increase in the number of worked hours (p = 0.020) and being more frequently infected with COVID-19 (35.0% vs. 21.3, p = 0.032). Moreover, familiar and doctor-patient relationships were also considerably affected. Physicians have been suffering a wide spectrum of physical, mental and relational consequences during COVID-19 pandemic, with youngest doctors being more likely to present several physical and mental health symptoms. Further studies are needed to evaluate long-term consequences of COVID-19 pandemic on the well-being of HCPs, and potential preventive strategies.
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AIM: The COVID-19 outbreak in Taiwan had a significant impact on medical services. These changes posed a threat to nurses' mental health. Resilience may protect nurses from the psychological impact of COVID-19. This study aimed to understand nurses' resilience and its relationship with nurses' characteristics (life and work situations) and mental health (depression, anxiety and stress) during the outbreak. DESIGN: A cross-sectional study. METHODS: This study surveyed the nurses at a hospital from 9 August 2021, to 20 August 2021. The content of the questionnaire included nurses' characteristics, resilience and mental health. RESULTS: There was an association between higher resilience and lower mental health problems. We also found that some nurses' characteristics were positively correlated with mental health problems. CONCLUSION: Some nurses' life and work situations predicted high levels of mental health problems during the pandemic. Additionally, higher levels of resilience were associated with lower levels of mental health problems.
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Previous cross-sectional studies showed that COVID-19-related discrimination against healthcare workers was linked to depression. However, no study has examined the longitudinal association that allows causal interpretations. This prospective cohort study aimed to examine whether COVID-19-related discrimination at baseline is associated with depression and suicidal ideation several months later. Data were collected from October 2020 to July 2021. Multivariable logistic regression was performed. Fixed effects models were used to control for the effect of hospitals (Level 2 variable). Adjustments also included age, sex, living alone, alcohol consumption, exercise, BMI, working hours, comorbidity, and frontline worker status (Level 1 variables). Multiple sensitivity analyses were conducted to examine if the results substantially changed and were robust to unmeasured confounding. Multiple imputation for missing data was conducted via chained equations. As the final sample, 2862 healthcare workers without depression at baseline were studied. A total of 269 individuals (9.4%) experienced COVID-19-related discrimination. Depression was suggested in 205 participants (7.2%), and suicidal ideation in 108 participants (3.8%). In the adjusted models, COVID-19-related discrimination was significantly associated with subsequent depression (OR = 2.18, 95% CI = 1.39 to 2.90) and suicidal ideation (OR = 2.07, 95% CI = 1.22 to 3.50). Multiple sensitivity analyses verified the results. COVID-19-related discrimination results in depression and suicidal ideation in healthcare workers. Interventions to prevent such discrimination against healthcare workers, e.g., anti-discrimination campaigns, are crucial during the COVID-19 pandemic.
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COVID-19 , Suicidal Ideation , Humans , Depression , Prospective Studies , PandemicsABSTRACT
Objectives: Nursing is among the top three most stressful jobs, yet stress in nurses has diminishing impacts on their personal health and productivity. The COVID-19 pandemic might elevate stress in nurses, in particular dermatology nurses. This study aims to examine the prevalence of stress among dermatology nurses and its related factors. Methodology: A cross-section study was conducted among 154 nurses at the National Hospital of Dermatology and Venereology in Vietnam. Data were collected during the third cluster of COVID-19 pandemic spread in Hanoi. Nurse stress was measured by stress items of the DASS-21. Factors related to stress included personal, family, work-related and social factors. Results: 51.9% of nurses met the criteria for stress according to DASS-21. All nurses reported at least 1 symptom of stress in the past week. Factors significantly related to stress among nurses included personal, family, work-related and social factors. While many factors in these four groups created stress in nurses, only work-related and social factors elevated the severity of stress in nurses. Conclusion: Hospital management should develop strategies to support nurses deal with stress, since most of the factors that elevate stress can be addressed by system-level interventions, such as management of professional relationships, organizational justice, and the welfare system.
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Law enforcement has been extensively documented as one of the most stressful occupations. With sudden disruptions due to the COVID-19 pandemic and the civil unrest following the murder of George Floyd in May 2020, new sources of stress (e.g., negative public interaction, risk of infection) have created unprecedented challenges for law enforcement. A large body of work has shown that the stressors experienced in law enforcement are associated with PTSD, suicidal ideation, and depression at a rate higher than the general population. However, much of the current stress literature focuses on sworn officers and largely overlooks the growing non-sworn population. This represents a significant public health concern with more than 300,000 civilians working in a non-sworn position. Despite the adverse impacts of stress being well-described among sworn officers, very little is known about the levels of stress within non-sworn personnel and how they compare to sworn officers. In addition to these knowledge gaps, work-related stress has largely been measured by surveys. While surveys provide valuable insight, they are subject to recall bias. Emerging research using cortisol has shown great promise in addressing survey limitations but remains mixed as to whether biomarkers correlate with stress.To address these knowledge gaps, this study used a mixed-methods approach to characterize work-related stress across two large urban Minnesota law enforcement departments. A total of 37 interviews explored novel stressors including barriers and facilitators to accessing mental health resources;417 surveys quantified the prevalence of work-related stressors and PTSD among sworn and non-sworn personnel;38 hair samples were collected to demonstrate the possibility of analyzing cortisol among a high-stressed occupation. The prevalence of PTSD symptomology was 24% among sworn and 39% among non-sworn personnel. Results indicated that mental health stigma was a perceived barrier to seeking help. Service providers familiar with law enforcement facilitated seeking help. Non-sworn respondents had lower organizational stress than sworn personnel. Responding to the civil unrest was particularly stressful for early-career non-sworn personnel. This study demonstrated the possibility of using hair samples in studies of stress within law enforcement. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2022 APA, all rights reserved)
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INTRODUCTION: COVID-19 has created numerous challenges for the health system. Nurses and medical emergency personnel are at the forefront of fighting COVID-19 and exposed to psychological disorders such as death anxiety and death obsession. Humor is a defense and coping mechanism against the anxiety and obsession associated with death. This study aimed to compare death anxiety, death obsession, and humor among nurses and medical emergency personnel during the COVID-19 pandemic. METHODS: This descriptive cross-sectional study was conducted with 230 nurses and medical emergency personnel. To collect data, the Templer death anxiety scale, death obsession scale, and humor styles questionnaire were used. SPSS 19 was used for data analysis. The significance level was considered at P < .05. RESULTS: Mean and standard deviation of death anxiety in the nurses and medical emergency personnel were 6.86 (4.04) and 5.68 (3.57), respectively; these values for death obsession were 29.82 (12.30) and 25.30 (12.66) and for humor 116.75 (30.87) and 118.48 (24.66), respectively. The nurses had significantly higher death anxiety (t = 2.33, P = .02) and death obsession (t = -2.68, P = .008) than the medical emergency personnel; moreover, there was no significant relationship among humor, death anxiety (r = .11, P = .10), and death obsession (r = .07, P = .31) in nurses and emergency personnel. DISCUSSION: The results of this study showed that the levels of death anxiety and death obsession were higher in the nurses than the medical emergency personnel. There was no significant difference between the hospital nurses and medical emergency personnel in terms of humor.
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COVID-19 , Anxiety/psychology , Cross-Sectional Studies , Humans , Obsessive Behavior , PandemicsABSTRACT
BACKGROUND: The ongoing COVID-19 pandemic has influenced educational systems worldwide. School principals coped with numerous significant challenges regarding school management during the epidemiological crisis that could generate a lot of work-related stress. Thus, the presented study examines Polish school principals' perceived stress and its association with exhaustion and psychosomatic complaints as burnout risk indicators. Principals' gender and age as sociodemographic control variables were also considered in this paper. METHODS: A cross-sectional online study was conducted in eight provinces of Poland from June to December 2021. The study was part of a global COVID-HL school principal survey under the global COVID-Health Literacy Research Network. Two subscales of the Perceived Stress Scale (PSS-10) (perceived helplessness [PH] and perceived self-efficacy [PSE]) were considered independent variables in relation to school principals' mental and physical exhaustion and psychosomatic complaints. Regression models consisting of two equations were used to test the relationship between variables. The first equation consists of the control variables (age, gender), and in the second equation, the independent variables (PH and PSE) were included in addition to the control variables. RESULTS: Almost 50% of school principals experienced a lack of control that caused anger and stress. Mental and physical exhaustion during the pandemic was often or always felt by 30% of respondents. Nearly half of Polish school principals experienced psychosomatic complaints in the form of muscle pain and headaches. PH, to a greater extent than PSE, was associated with mental and physical exhaustion and psychosomatic complaints. With age, the level of psychosomatic complaints and mental and physical exhaustion decreases, but it was higher among women. Regression analysis revealed significant associations between exhaustion and mental health outcomes, even after controlling for demographic variables Conclusion: This study showed that almost half of Polish school principals indicated a high frequency of perceived stress during the pandemic. PH was more substantially associated with mental and physical exhaustion in younger female principals than PSE. Younger female school principals reported more exhaustion and psychosomatic complaints. This finding should be the baseline information for policymakers to improve the wellbeing of Polish school principals and prevent the risk of burnout.
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Burnout, Professional , COVID-19 , Occupational Stress , Humans , Female , Poland/epidemiology , Pandemics , Cross-Sectional Studies , COVID-19/epidemiology , Occupational Stress/epidemiology , Occupational Stress/psychology , Burnout, Professional/epidemiology , Burnout, Professional/psychology , Schools , Psychophysiologic Disorders , Risk FactorsSubject(s)
Burnout, Professional , Humans , Burnout, Psychological , Outcome Assessment, Health CareABSTRACT
This study aims to investigate whether HCWs infected with COVID-19 may experience potential psychological consequences and a higher incidence of depression, anxiety, work-related stress, and burnout compared to non-infected HCWs. A case-control study with 774 participants was conducted comparing COVID-19-infected HCWs (cases) and non-infected HCWs (controls) from the Occupational Medicine Unit at the Teaching Hospital Policlinico Umberto I, who were administered the same questionnaire including Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale, Copenhagen Burnout Inventory and Karasek's Job Content Questionnaire. No differences in the levels of burnout and decision latitude were found between the two groups. Cases showed higher level of anxiety and job demand compared to controls. In contrast, levels of depression in the case group were significantly lower compared to the control group. The results are indicating the need for workplace health promotion activities based on stress and burnout management and prevention. Multiple organizational and work-related interventions can lower the impact of mental health-related issues in the COVID-19 pandemics, including the improvement of workplace infrastructures, as well as the adoption of correct and shared anti-contagion measures, which must include regular personal protective equipment supply, and the adoption of training programs that deal with mental health-related issues.
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BACKGROUND: Stress can originate from many different unsatisfying work situations. Registered nurses working in municipal care have experience of work-related stress in different ways. AIM: The purpose of this study was to describe the work-related stress experienced by registered nurses caring for older people at municipal aged care facilities. METHODS: Qualitative semi-structured interviews according to Polit and Beck were carried out in clinical work at six different municipal aged care facilities in Sweden. Twelve registered nurses participated in the study. RESULTS: The results outlined in one main central theme: Feelings of inadequacy and dissatisfaction contribute to work-related stress and three categories: Difficulty coping with work tasks, Insufficient support, Work-related stress affects private lives. Areas identified were lack of time, staff shortages, high number of patients, lack of communication and teamwork in the working group, showing that inadequacy and dissatisfaction can contribute to work-related stress. This can contribute to work-related stress, and it can be a result of problems in the organizational and social work environment. CONCLUSION: This study showed the everyday experiences of registered nurses' stress at work. The reasons that registered nurses experience a heavy workload were found to be similar in several municipal care facilities. Future interventions should consider the areas of stress found in this study to reduce the risk of further increasing the work-related stress experienced by registered nurses working in municipal aged care.
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Objective: Frontline healthcare workers experienced high levels of psychological distress and emotional turmoil due to the changes necessitated by the COVID-19 public health emergency. Given that workplace stress can negatively influence both quality of work, and job performance, this study sought to explore the lived experiences of work-related stress among female healthcare workers in United Arab of Emirates during the COVID-19 pandemic. Methods: A qualitative phenomenological investigation was performed using a purposive sampling approach. A total of 26 semi-structured interviews were conducted with female healthcare workers who worked directly with COVID-19 patients. Using Giorgi's descriptive method, the data were analyzed to identify the main themes. Results: Three main themes emerged from the data analysis, with nine categories under these themes. The first theme was "sources of work-related stress." The participants reported a high workload, fear of being infected and transmitting the virus to others, and uncertainty and lack of knowledge regarding COVID-19 to be the main sources of their work-related stress. The second theme was "challenges of working during the pandemic." The participants related being challenged by changes in the organization of care, the need to use personal protective equipment, a work-life imbalance, and witnessing patients' suffering. The third theme was "coping strategies." The participants perceived having sources of social support and using self-adjustment skills to be helpful strategies in terms of coping with the stressful situations they experienced. Conclusion: The findings suggest a number of strategies and interventions that could be used at the individual and institutional levels to promote the preparedness and efficacy of healthcare workers during future crises and public health emergencies.