Psychological Distress among Iranian Health-Care Providers Exposed to Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19): A Qualitative Study
Abstract Background Novel corona virus pneumonia, named COVID-19, has spread rapidly to other countries like Italy, Iran and South Korea and affected all people, especially health-care providers. Therefore, due to the rapid spread of the disease in Iran, the aim of the present study was to explore psychological distress experienced by Iranian health-care providers in the first few weeks of the corona virus outbreak. Methods The present qualitative study was conducted on 18 Iranian health-care providers exposed to COVID − 19 using a content analysis method. Purposeful sampling was used to select the participants and continued until data saturation was reached. Data were collected using semi-structured interviews and then the qualitative data were analyzed through direct content analysis. Results By analyzing 236 primary codes, three main categories, including demands, job resources and individual resources were extracted from the experiences of health-care providers during corona virus outbreak. These categories each included several sub-categories, which were classified according to their significant characteristics. Conclusions .Psychological protection of health care workers is an important component in addressing the COVID-19 epidemic. Understanding the health care providers’ experiences and their mental health demands during public health emergency might help medical workers and managers to response better to a disaster.