The Experiences of Health Care Workers during the COVID-19 Pandemic in Korea: a Qualitative Study.
J Korean Med Sci
; 36(23): e170, 2021 Jun 14.
Article
in English
| MEDLINE | ID: covidwho-1269969
ABSTRACT
BACKGROUND:
During the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic, health care workers (HCWs) have faced multiple physical and psychological challenges while carrying out their duties. In this study, we examined the experiences of specific groups of HCWs during the pandemic.METHODS:
From 18 November to 30 December 2020, we conducted a qualitative study using semi-structured, face-to-face interviews with four groups of 14 HCWs in three cities (Seoul, Daegu, and Gwangju) in South Korea. The HCWs who participated in the focus groups included physicians, nurses, medical practitioners, and cleaning staff who directly or indirectly cared for patients during the COVID-19 epidemic. Interviews were transcribed verbatim and analyzed using the consensual qualitative research approach.RESULTS:
Our qualitative data analysis revealed four main domains work-related struggles, personal life-related struggles, psychological stress, and health-related struggles. Health care providers were challenged by working in critical situations and were overwhelmed by heavy workloads, fear of infection, lifestyle changes, and psychological and physical struggles.CONCLUSION:
Our findings could serve as a foundation for establishing health care systems and policies that help HCWs cope with occupational stress, thus increasing their ability to adapt to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic.Keywords
Full text:
Available
Collection:
International databases
Database:
MEDLINE
Main subject:
Health Personnel
/
Occupational Stress
/
COVID-19
Type of study:
Experimental Studies
/
Observational study
/
Qualitative research
/
Randomized controlled trials
Limits:
Adult
/
Female
/
Humans
/
Male
/
Middle aged
Country/Region as subject:
Asia
Language:
English
Journal:
J Korean Med Sci
Journal subject:
Medicine
Year:
2021
Document Type:
Article
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