TY - JOUR
T1 - Preparedness and the importance of meeting the needs of healthcare workers
T2 - a qualitative study on Ebola
AU - Belfroid, E
AU - van Steenbergen, J
AU - Ellerbroek, P
AU - Huis, A
AU - Hulscher, M
AU - Timen, Aura
N1 - Copyright © 2017 The Healthcare Infection Society. Published by Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.
PY - 2018/2
Y1 - 2018/2
N2 - BACKGROUND: Healthcare workers (HCWs) face specific challenges in infectious disease outbreaks, which provide unusual, new events with exposure risk. The fear of infection or new, unknown tasks in an unfamiliar setting, for example, may complicate outbreak management.AIM: To gain insight into how healthcare organizations can prepare to meet the needs of their HCWs by capturing the experiences of HCWs with patients with suspected Ebola virus disease.METHODS: We conducted 23 in-depth interviews with HCWs, of whom 20 worked in a Dutch university hospital and three worked in a regional ambulance service. We invited HCWs who cared for patients with suspected Ebola or who were on the team preparing for admission of such patients in the period 2014-2015.FINDINGS: The HCWs were stressed and anxious, but most rated their overall experience as positive. We categorized the reported experiences in three main themes, namely, experiences related to: (i) the novelty of the threat, (ii) the risk of infection and fear of transmission, and (iii) the excessive attention. Our results underline the importance of a supportive working environment suitable for crises.CONCLUSION: The experiences of HCWs dealing with patients with suspected Ebola can direct improvements in generic preparedness for highly transmissible diseases.
AB - BACKGROUND: Healthcare workers (HCWs) face specific challenges in infectious disease outbreaks, which provide unusual, new events with exposure risk. The fear of infection or new, unknown tasks in an unfamiliar setting, for example, may complicate outbreak management.AIM: To gain insight into how healthcare organizations can prepare to meet the needs of their HCWs by capturing the experiences of HCWs with patients with suspected Ebola virus disease.METHODS: We conducted 23 in-depth interviews with HCWs, of whom 20 worked in a Dutch university hospital and three worked in a regional ambulance service. We invited HCWs who cared for patients with suspected Ebola or who were on the team preparing for admission of such patients in the period 2014-2015.FINDINGS: The HCWs were stressed and anxious, but most rated their overall experience as positive. We categorized the reported experiences in three main themes, namely, experiences related to: (i) the novelty of the threat, (ii) the risk of infection and fear of transmission, and (iii) the excessive attention. Our results underline the importance of a supportive working environment suitable for crises.CONCLUSION: The experiences of HCWs dealing with patients with suspected Ebola can direct improvements in generic preparedness for highly transmissible diseases.
KW - Communicable Disease Control/methods
KW - Disease Management
KW - Disease Transmission, Infectious/prevention & control
KW - Female
KW - Health Knowledge, Attitudes, Practice
KW - Health Personnel/psychology
KW - Hemorrhagic Fever, Ebola/diagnosis
KW - Hospitals, University
KW - Humans
KW - Interviews as Topic
KW - Male
KW - Netherlands
KW - Occupational Exposure
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U2 - 10.1016/j.jhin.2017.07.001
DO - 10.1016/j.jhin.2017.07.001
M3 - Article
C2 - 28690117
VL - 98
SP - 212
EP - 218
JO - Journal of Hospital Infection
JF - Journal of Hospital Infection
SN - 0195-6701
IS - 2
ER -
