Impact of a Resiliency Training to Support the Mental Well-being of Front-line Workers

During the early months of the COVID-19 pandemic, people of all ages began sewing fabric face masks. Organized through separate grassroots movements, oftentimes using social media platforms, people pooled their resources to make masks for front line workers and others in desperate need. While some people sold these face masks, many participated in philanthropic crafting, donating them to hospitals and other health care centres. Older adults were identified early on as being particularly vulnerable to the effects of the virus, and so their response to mitigate the impacts of the pandemic through crafting was salient. This study investigated the experience of philanthropic hand crafting by older adults who were living through the COVID-19 pandemic. Twenty-seven older adults of age 60–87 who sewed masks for others were interviewed. A comprehensive data analysis of these interviews yielded 39 descriptive codes that were collapsed into eight themes: emotions, engagement, meaning, relationships, accomplishment, intellect, moral values and agency. One finding was that there were psychological, relational and existential benefits for the crafters. Making masks allowed participants to help other people, and it gave the participants a feeling of value, worthiness and purpose. Additionally, participants felt more in control in a chaotic world as they made masks to protect themselves, their loved ones, as well as strangers. The philanthropic crafting enhanced older adults’ well-being in many ways, and lessons learned from this study could be extended into ‘normal times’. For example, more older adults would be able to participate in craft-based philanthropy if they had access to the tools and materials. They would be more motivated if they received thank you notes and pictures of the recipients using their handmade gifts, and if they could express their creativity more. Finally, creating a physical or virtual community for older adults around craft philanthropy would help older adults feel more connected to and supported by their peers, and the community at large.

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KNOWLEDGE AND REASONS FOR ANXIETY AMONG NURSES TOWARDS COVID -19 IN NIGERIA

African Journal of Infectious Diseases ◽

10.21010/ajid.v15i2.4 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 15 (2) ◽

pp. 16-23

Author(s):

Linda Chihurumnanya Odikpo ◽

Helen Ogechi Abazie ◽

Duke Emon ◽

Mary Oluwafunmilola Mobolaji-Olajide ◽

Dorothy Dooshima Gbahabo ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Sampling Technique ◽

Well Being ◽

Front Line ◽

Chi Square ◽

Cross Sectional ◽

Front Line Workers ◽

Level Of Knowledge ◽

Multistage Sampling ◽

Level Of Significance ◽

The Relationship

Background: Nurses in Nigeria and the whole world are facing an unprecedented severe level of anxiety in their professional and individual lives, compounded by not knowing what the future holds especially with regards to the present COVID-19 pandemic. This research is to evaluate the knowledge and reasons for anxiety toward COVID 19 among nurses in Nigeria. Materials and Methods: An online cross-sectional quantitative survey that utilized a multistage sampling technique and data was collected with questionnaire instrument from 418 nurses using Google form for a period of eight weeks. Analysis of the result was with the aid of the Statistical Package for Social Science (SPSS) version 20 software. Descriptive data of participants was presented in tables while the test of the inferential data was with Chi-square at 95% level of significance (p = 0.05). Results: The result revealed that 81.3% of the respondents are female, with a mean age of 37.81+8.21 years and mean years of experience of 13.1+8.44 years. One hundred and eighty (56.9%) of the respondents have good knowledge of COVID -19, with mean of 10.67±1.19. 88.5% were anxious because they are front line workers and having direct contact with COVID-19 patients. The relationship between identified reasons for the anxiety experienced among Nigerian nurses and level of knowledge of COVID-19 were not significant (p > 0.05). Conclusion: Although nurses in Nigeria are knowledgeable about the COVID-19, they have reasons for being anxious. Addressing the reasons for their anxiety will promote their physical and psychological well-being.

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How do third sector organisations or charities providing health and well-being services in England implement patient-reported outcome measures (PROMs)? A qualitative interview study

BMJ Open ◽

10.1136/bmjopen-2020-039116 ◽

2020 ◽

Vol 10 (10) ◽

pp. e039116

Author(s):

Alexis Foster ◽

Alicia O'Cathain ◽

Janet Harris

Keyword(s):

Third Sector ◽

Well Being ◽

Patient Reported Outcome Measures ◽

Patient Reported Outcome ◽

Front Line ◽

Qualitative Interview Study ◽

Patient Reported ◽

Third Sector Organisations ◽

Front Line Workers ◽

Health And Well Being

ObjectivesTo identify the facilitators and barriers to implementing patient-reported outcome measures (PROMs) in third sector organisations (TSOs) delivering health and well-being services.DesignA qualitative interview study. Participants were recruited using purposive, opportunistic and snowballing methods. Framework analysis was used.SettingTSOs including charities, community groups and not-for-profit organisations in England, UK.ParticipantsThirty interviewees including service users, TSO front-line workers and managers, commissioners of TSOs and other stakeholders such as academic researchers.ResultsTSOs primarily used PROMs because of pressures arising from the external funding context. However, organisations often struggled to implement PROMs, rarely getting the process right first time. Facilitators for implementation included having an implementation lead committed to making it work, investing resources in data management systems and support staff and taking a collaborative approach to designing the PROMs process. The latter helped to ensure an appropriate PROMs process for the specific TSO including choosing a suitable measure and planning how data would be collected, processed and used. There was a dilemma about whether TSOs should use standardised well-being measures (eg, the Warwick-Edinburgh Mental Well-being Scale) or design their own PROM. Not all TSOs sustained the collection and reporting of PROMs over time because this required a change in organisational culture to view PROMs as beneficial for the TSO and PROMs becoming part of front-line workers’ job specifications.ConclusionsTSOs are trying to use PROMs because they feel they have no choice but often struggle with implementation. Having an implementation lead, designing an appropriate process, investing resources, training staff and taking mitigating action to address potential barriers can facilitate implementation. Some of the findings are consistent with the experiences of more clinical services so appear relevant to the implementation of PROMs irrespective of the specific context.

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The Three “R”s-Rights, Roles and Responsibilities of Healthcare Workers During COVID-19 Outbreak in India

JOURNAL FOR CLINICAL AND DIAGNOSTIC RESEARCH ◽

10.7860/jcdr/2021/48651:15074 ◽

2021 ◽

Author(s):

Monalisa Biswas ◽

Vijetha Shenoy Belle

Keyword(s):

Healthcare Workers ◽

Well Being ◽

Public Health Emergency ◽

Front Line ◽

Roles And Responsibilities ◽

Medical Supplies ◽

The Family ◽

Burn Out ◽

Pandemic Threat ◽

Mental Well Being

This article addresses the rights, roles and responsibilities of Healthcare Workers (HCW) who are front line warriors in any pandemic outbreak. Coronaviruses 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic has emerged as international public health emergency in March 2020, and exposed the weak/failed health care system preparedness to respond to the pandemic threat and controlling the community spread. In India, huge population, poor economic growth and unacceptable doctor to patient ratio made swift response to emergence of pandemic, safeguarding HCWs, ability to provide care without mental and physical burn out challenging. This review emphasises the need for safety of HCW and patients, infection control, security to the family, psychosocial and mental well-being, proper allocation of medical supplies, medical ethics and communication.

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Impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on the mental health and well-being of UK healthcare workers

BJPsych Open ◽

10.1192/bjo.2021.42 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 7 (3) ◽

Author(s):

James Gilleen ◽

Aida Santaolalla ◽

Lorena Valdearenas ◽

Clara Salice ◽

Montserrat Fusté

Keyword(s):

Mental Health ◽

Healthcare Workers ◽

Psychiatric Symptoms ◽

Well Being ◽

Post Traumatic Stress ◽

Front Line ◽

Related Factors ◽

Factors Associated ◽

Controllable Factors ◽

Mental Well Being

Background The coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic has had a significant psychological impact on healthcare workers (HCWs). Aims There is an urgent need to understand the risk and protective factors associated with poor mental well-being of UK HCWs working during the COVID-19 pandemic. Method Shortly after the April 2020 UK COVID-19 peak 2773 HCWs completed a survey containing measures of anxiety, depression, post-traumatic stress disorder and stress, as well as questions around potential predictors such as roles, COVID-19 risk perception and workplace-related factors. Respondents were classified as high or low symptomatic on each scale and logistic regression revealed factors associated with severe psychiatric symptoms. Change in well-being from pre- to during COVID-19 was also quantified. Results Nearlya third of HCWs reported moderate to severe levels of anxiety and depression, and the number reporting very high symptoms was more than quadruple that pre-COVID-19. Several controllable factors were associated with the most severe level of psychiatric symptoms: insufficient personal protective equipment availability, workplace preparation, training and communication, and higher workload. Being female, ‘front line’, previous psychiatric diagnoses, traumatic events, and being an allied HCW or manager were also significantly associated with severe psychiatric symptoms. Sharing stress, resilience and ethical support for treatment decisions were significantly associated with low psychiatric symptoms. Front-line workers showed greater worsening of mental health compared with non-front-line HCWs. Conclusions Poor mental well-being was prevalent during the COVID-19 response, however, controllable factors associated with severe psychiatric symptoms are available to be targeted to reduce the detrimental impact of COVID-19 and other pandemics on HCW mental health.

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Perceived Overprotection and Its Association With Quality of Life in Dementia

GeroPsych ◽

10.1024/1662-9647/a000207 ◽

2019 ◽

Vol 32 (3) ◽

pp. 125-134

Author(s):

Mechthild Niemann-Mirmehdi ◽

Andreas Häusler ◽

Paul Gellert ◽

Johanna Nordheim

Keyword(s):

Quality Of Life ◽

Patient Autonomy ◽

Positive Association ◽

Well Being ◽

Negative Association ◽

Significant Positive Association ◽

Cross Sectional ◽

People With Dementia ◽

Mental Well Being

Abstract. To date, few studies have focused on perceived overprotection from the perspective of people with dementia (PwD). In the present examination, the association of perceived overprotection in PwD is examined as an autonomy-restricting factor and thus negative for their mental well-being. Cross-sectional data from the prospective DYADEM study of 82 patient/partner dyads (mean age = 74.26) were used to investigate the association between overprotection, perceived stress, depression, and quality of life (QoL). The analyses show that an overprotective contact style with PwD has a significant positive association with stress and depression, and has a negative association with QoL. The results emphasize the importance of avoiding an overprotective care style and supporting patient autonomy.

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