Published online Jun 6, 2022. doi: 10.12998/wjcc.v10.i16.5275
Peer-review started: August 18, 2021
First decision: November 1, 2021
Revised: December 5, 2021
Accepted: April 29, 2022
Article in press: April 29, 2022
Published online: June 6, 2022
Processing time: 288 Days and 2.2 Hours
Health care workers treating coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) patients experience burnout and stress due to overwork and poor working conditions.
To investigate the work experiences of frontline health care workers in Wuhan city and Qinghai province, China, during the COVID-19 outbreak.
In this cross-sectional descriptive study, a self-reported questionnaire was designed to evaluate work experiences of medical staff throughout the course of the COVID-19 pandemic. A total of 178 health care workers responded to the questionnaire between February 19 and 29, 2020. Higher questionnaire dimen-sional score confirmed dimensional advantage.
Of all dimensions evaluated by this questionnaire, the occupational value dimension had the highest mean score of 2.61 (0.59), followed by the support/security dimension score of 2.30 (0.74). Occupational protection scored lowest at 1.44 (0.75), followed by work environment at 1.97 (0.81). The social relationships dimension had an intermediate score of 2.06 (0.80). Significant differences in working conditions were observed across hospital departments, with the fever ward scoring lowest. Total scores also differed significantly across workplaces; the fever outpatient department scored lowest (P < 0.01). This phenomenon was likely due to the fact that work in the fever outpatient depart
Medical staff treating COVID-19 patients in China report poor occupational experiences strongly affected by work environment, occupational protection and social relationships. Health care managers must address the occupational needs of medical staff by ensuring a supportive and safe work environment.
Core Tip: Several studies have reported on mental health care and infection prevention for health care workers, but there has been no research on the experiences of health care workers during the early stage of the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic, when little was known about the disease. We developed a questionnaire to evaluate health care workers’ work experiences consisting of five domains: Support/security, work environment, occupational protection, and social relationships, and occupational value. Health care workers treating COVID-19 patients in China had poor work experiences overall. Health care managers should address the problems faced by health care workers by providing high-quality personal protective equipment and adequate training and ensuring a supportive and safe work environment.