ABSTRACT
The global community needs to be aware of the potential psychosocial consequences that may be experienced by health care workers who are actively managing patients with coronavirus disease (COVID-19). These health care workers are at increased risk for experiencing mood and trauma-related disorders, including posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD). In this concept article, strategies are recommended for individual health care workers and hospital leadership to aid in mitigating the risk of PTSD, as well as to build resilience in light of a potential second surge of COVID-19.
Subject(s)
COVID-19 , Stress Disorders, Post-Traumatic , COVID-19/prevention & control , Health Personnel/psychology , Humans , SARS-CoV-2 , Stress Disorders, Post-Traumatic/prevention & control , Stress Disorders, Post-Traumatic/psychologyABSTRACT
OBJECTIVE: Protecting healthcare workers is an essential component of a successful response to the COVID-19 pandemic. The resource intensive nature of infectious disease protection, budgetary constraints, and global shortages of personal protective equipment (PPE) make this a daunting task. Practical, easily implemented strategies for healthcare workers (HCW) protection are needed. METHODS: We cross-reference the "Systems, Space, Staff, and Stuff" paradigm from disaster management and the "Hierarchy of Controls" approach to infection prevention from the Center for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) to generate a narrative overview of worker protection strategies relevant to COVID-19. RESULTS: Alternative types of PPE, management of hazards, and reorganizing how people work can optimize HCWs protection. CONCLUSIONS: A comprehensive PPE strategy can utilize the "systems, space, staff, stuff" paradigm of disaster management to identify new or underutilized solutions to HCWs protection.
