1
|
Al Mutair A, Woodman A, Al Hassawi AI, Ambani Z, Al Bazroun MI, Alahmed FS, Defensor MA, Saha C, Aljarameez F. Healthcare providers as patients: COVID-19 experience. PLoS One 2023; 18:e0289131. [PMID: 37616281 PMCID: PMC10449114 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0289131] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/19/2022] [Accepted: 07/11/2023] [Indexed: 08/26/2023] Open
Abstract
There is compelling evidence for the psychological effects of the COVID-19 pandemic and earlier epidemics. However, fewer studies have examined the subjective meaning experience of healthcare providers who have survived COVID-19 as patients. This qualitative study aimed to understand further and describe the life experiences of healthcare providers who have survived COVID-19 as patients in Saudi Arabia. Data was collected using unstructured in-depth individual interviews among n = 10 healthcare providers from public hospitals in Saudi Arabia. Data were analyzed based on a phenomenological approach, which resulted in five themes: (i) physical and psychological signs and symptoms; (ii) self-healing, hiding pain, and family; (iii) fear of complications; (iv) disease stigma & long-term psychological outcomes; (v) emotional support, mental well-being & resignation. The overall synthesis showed that healthcare providers, as patients, experience the same difficulties and stressors as the general public. In some cases, these factors are even worse, as family members, colleagues, and employers develop a new type of stigma. Given the impact of social media and the flow of information of any type, more research is needed to examine the sources used to obtain information by the general public, whether these sources are reliable, and how the public can be taught to use only scientific data and not social data. Understanding the experience of healthcare providers as patients during the pandemic has allowed to look at the feelings and needs of people during illness from a new perspective. As expressed by participants, being a healthcare provider does not reduce the fear of the disease and does not mitigate its consequences in the form of stigmatization and isolation.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Abbas Al Mutair
- Research Center, Almoosa Specialist Hospital, Al-ahsa, Saudi Arabia
- School of Nursing, University of Wollongong, Wollongong, Australia
- Almoosa College of Health Sciences, Al-ahsa, Saudi Arabia
- Nursing Department, Prince Sultan Military College, Dhahran, Saudi Arabia
- Department of Medical-Surgical Nursing, Princess Nourah Bent Abdulrahman University, Riyadh, Saudi Arabia
| | - Alexander Woodman
- School of Health Sciences, University of Salford, Manchester, United Kingdom
| | | | - Zainab Ambani
- Nursing Department, Qatif Central Hospital, Qatif, Saudi Arabia
| | | | | | | | - Chandni Saha
- Research Center, Almoosa Specialist Hospital, Al-ahsa, Saudi Arabia
| | - Faiza Aljarameez
- King Saud bin Abdulaziz for Health Sciences, King Abdullah International Medical Research Center, Ministry of the National Guard Health Affairs, Al-Hasa, Saudi Arabia
| |
Collapse
|
2
|
Almusalami EM, Al-Bazroun MI, Alhasawi AI, Alahmed FS, Al-Muslim ZM, Al-Bazroun LI, Muslim M, Saha C, Kay E, Alzahrani ZA, Ahmed GY, Al Mutair A. Acceptance, Advocacy, and Perception of Health Care Providers on COVID-19 Vaccine: Comparing Early Stage of COVID-19 Vaccination with Latter Stage in the Eastern Region of Saudi Arabia. Vaccines (Basel) 2023; 11:vaccines11020488. [PMID: 36851365 PMCID: PMC9963779 DOI: 10.3390/vaccines11020488] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/29/2022] [Revised: 02/12/2023] [Accepted: 02/14/2023] [Indexed: 02/22/2023] Open
Abstract
Vaccination of healthcare providers has recently gained focused attention of public health officials. As HCPs have direct contact with the population, and HCPs significantly influence the population, this study aimed to compare the acceptance rate, advocacy rate, and beliefs about the COVID-19 vaccine among HCPs in two time periods. In this repeated cross-sectional study, different HCPs were assessed in two periods ten months apart, i.e., November to December 2020 and September to October 2021, which were before and after COVID-19 vaccine approval by authorities. The study was conducted in Qatif Central Hospital, Eastern Region of Saudi Arabia. There were 609 respondents: 236 participants in the first period and 373 participants in the second period. Only 13 participants did not get the COVID-19 vaccine. There was around a 40% difference in the acceptance rate between the two study periods; the latter period was higher at 94.7%. Furthermore, 24.1% was the difference between the willingness to advocate the COVID-19 vaccine for others; the first period had a lower percentage (60.1%). Overall, results of the study showed that vaccine hesitancy, as well as the willingness to advocate for the vaccine, were improved between the pre-vaccine approval period and post-vaccine approval period, showing that the efforts made by the government improved COVID-19 acceptance and advocacy among HCPs. However, vaccine hesitancy is not a new issue, and for a better understanding of HCPs' beliefs, a qualitative study is needed.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Eman M. Almusalami
- Research Center, Almoosa Specialist Hospital, Al-Ahsa 36342, Saudi Arabia
- Correspondence:
| | | | | | | | | | | | - Maryam Muslim
- Almoosa College of Health Sciences, Al-Ahsa 36342, Saudi Arabia
| | - Chandni Saha
- Research Center, Almoosa Specialist Hospital, Al-Ahsa 36342, Saudi Arabia
| | - Elbert Kay
- Population Health Department, John Hopkins Aramco Healthcare, Al-khober 31952, Saudi Arabia
| | - Zeyad A. Alzahrani
- Administration, Presidency of State Security Hospital, Riyadh 12223, Saudi Arabia
| | - Gasmelseed Y. Ahmed
- Columbia University Hospital, New York, NY 10027-6907, USA
- Faculty of Medicine and Health Sciences, Managil University for Sciences and Technology, Managil 21111, Sudan
| | - Abbas Al Mutair
- Research Center, Almoosa Specialist Hospital, Al-Ahsa 36342, Saudi Arabia
- Almoosa College of Health Sciences, Al-Ahsa 36342, Saudi Arabia
- School of Nursing, University of Wollongong, Wollongong 2522, Australia
- Nursing Department, Prince Sultan Military College, Dhahran 34313, Saudi Arabia
- Medical-Surgical Nursing Department, Princess Nourah Bint Abdulrahman University, Riyadh 84428, Saudi Arabia
| |
Collapse
|