TY - JOUR
AU - Daniels, Jo
AU - Ingram, Jenny
AU - Pease, Anna
AU - Wainwright, Elaine
AU - Beckett, Kate
AU - Iyadurai, Lalitha
AU - Harris , Sophie
AU - Donnelly, Olivia
AU - Roberts , Tom
AU - Carlton, Edward
PY - 2021
DA - September
TI - The COVID-19 Clinician Cohort (CoCCo) Study: Empirically Grounded Recommendations for Forward-Facing Psychological Care of Frontline Doctors
JO - International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health
VL - 18
IS - 18
DO - https://doi.org/10.3390/ijerph18189675
AB - This study aimed to develop empirically grounded recommendations and a coherent model of psychological care derived from the experiences and psychological care needs of COVID-19 frontline doctors, using semi-structured interviews and thematic analysis. Participants were UK frontline doctors specialising in Emergency Medicine, Anaesthetics, or Intensive Care (n= 31) purposively sampled for maximum variation on gender, specialty, ethnicity, and trauma-related distress; most worked in ICU during the pandemic (71%). Four themes were derived: (1) ‘coping strategies’, participants used many, including exercise, mindfulness, and “wait until it gets really bad”; (2) ‘sources of support’, participants valued embedded psychological support, digital services, and informal conversations with colleagues or family, though there was little opportunity; (3) ‘organisational influences on wellbeing’, participants reported a love–hate relationship for concepts like ‘wellbeing’, seen as important but insulting when basic workplace needs were unmet; (4) ‘improving engagement with support’, analysis suggests we must reduce physical and psychological barriers to access and encourage leaders to model psychologically supportive behaviours. Doctors’ frontline COVID-19 working experiences shine a ‘spotlight’ on pre-existing problems such as lack of physical resources and access to psychological care. Empirically grounded recommendations and a model of incremental psychological care are presented for use in clinical services.
PB - MDPI
UR - https://aura.abdn.ac.uk/handle/2164/17080
KW - Coronavirus (COVID-19)
KW - Mental health and wellbeing
KW - Work and workforce
ER