Addressing Acute Stress among Professionals Caring for COVID-19 Patients: Lessons Learned during the First Outbreak in Spain (March–April 2020)

José Joaquín Mira, Ángel Cobos-Vargas, Maria Pilar Astier-Peña, Pastora Pérez-Pérez, Irene Carrillo, Mercedes Guilabert, Virtudes Pérez-Jover, Cesar Fernández-Peris, María Asunción Vicente-Ripoll, Carmen Silvestre-Busto, Susana Lorenzo-Martínez, Jimmy Martin-Delgado, Carlos Aibar and Jesús Aranaz
Additional contact information
José Joaquín Mira: Alicante-Sant Joan Health Department, 03013 Alacant, Spain
Ángel Cobos-Vargas: Quality and Patient Management, San Cecilio Clinical University Hospital, 18016 Granada, Spain
Maria Pilar Astier-Peña: “La Jota” Health Centre, 50015 Zaragoza, Spain
Pastora Pérez-Pérez: Spanish Society for Quality Care, 33003 Oviedo, Spain
Irene Carrillo: Health Psychology Department, Miguel Hernandez University, 03202 Elche, Spain
Mercedes Guilabert: Health Psychology Department, Miguel Hernandez University, 03202 Elche, Spain
Virtudes Pérez-Jover: Health Psychology Department, Miguel Hernandez University, 03202 Elche, Spain
Cesar Fernández-Peris: Health Psychology Department, Miguel Hernandez University, 03202 Elche, Spain
María Asunción Vicente-Ripoll: Health Psychology Department, Miguel Hernandez University, 03202 Elche, Spain
Carmen Silvestre-Busto: Osasunbidea, 31002 Pamplona, Spain
Susana Lorenzo-Martínez: Quality and Patient Management Department, Alcorcon Foundation University Hospital, 28922 Alcorcon, Spain
Jimmy Martin-Delgado: Atenea Research Group, Foundation for the Promotion of Health and Biomedical Research, 03550 Sant Joan D’ Alacant, Spain
Carlos Aibar: Preventive Medicine Department, Lozano Blesa Clinical University Hospital, 50009 Zaragoza, Spain
Jesús Aranaz: Preventive Medicine Department, Ramón y Cajal University Hospital, 28034 Madrid, Spain

IJERPH, 2021, vol. 18, issue 22, 1-19

Abstract: Objectives : To describe lessons learned during the first COVID-19 outbreak in developing urgent interventions to strengthen healthcare workers’ capacity to cope with acute stress caused by health care pressure, concern about becoming infected, despair of witnessing patients’ suffering, and critical decision-making requirements of the SARS-CoV-2 pandemic during the first outbreak in Spain. Methods : A task force integrated by healthcare professionals and academics was activated following the first observations of acute stress reactions starting to compromise the professionals’ capacity for caring COVID-19 patients. Literature review and qualitative approach (consensus techniques) were applied. The target population included health professionals in primary care, hospitals, emergencies, and nursing homes. Interventions designed for addressing acute stress were agreed and disseminated. Findings : There are similarities in stressors to previous outbreaks, and the solutions devised then may work now. A set of issues, interventions to cope with, and their levels of evidence were defined. Issues and interventions were classified as: adequate communication initiative to strengthen work morale (avoiding information blackouts, uniformity of criteria, access to updated information, mentoring new professionals); resilience and recovery from physical and mental fatigue (briefings, protecting the family, regulated recovery time during the day, psychological first aid, humanizing care); reinforce leadership of intermediate commands (informative leadership, transparency, realism, and positive messages, the current state of emergency has not allowed for an empirical analysis of the effectiveness of proposed interventions. Sharing information to gauge expectations, listening to what professionals need, feeling protected from threats, organizational flexibility, encouraging teamwork, and leadership that promotes psychological safety have led to more positive responses. Attention to the needs of individuals must be combined with caring for the teams responsible for patient care. Conclusions : Although the COVID-19 pandemic has a more devastating effect than other recent outbreaks, there are common stressors and lessons learned in all of them that we must draw on to increase our capacity to respond to future healthcare crises.

Keywords: SARS Virus; pandemic; acute stress; fatigue; moral damage; moral labour; burnout; well-being; health personnel; hospitals; primary health care (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: I I1 I3 Q Q5 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2021
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
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