Abstract
Objective: To explore impact of COVID-19 outbreak on resilience
and emotions of frontline healthcare workers (HCW) during the pandemic
Design: Cross-sectional retrospective descriptive study
Setting: KK Women and Children’s Hospital, Singapore,
Department of Obstetrics and Gynaecology, between 7 February to 30 April
2020
Population: One hundred and one (101) HCW who worked in
COVID-19 screening facilities and wards
Methods: The participants were given a survey designed to
understand their emotions when caring for patients with suspected or
confirmed COVID-19, and how their various aspects of health were
affected. The Brief Resilience Scale (BRS) was used to evaluate their
resilience.
Results : Normal resilience scores were found in 76.3% of HCW,
11.3% had high resilience scores while 12.4% had low resilience
scores. Doctors had higher resilience scores than nurses (3.8 vs 3.3,
p-value 0.017). HCWs perceived their mental health was most affected,
followed by social and physical health as a result of COVID-19 related
work. The main stressors faced were related to their personal safety and
that of their family. A positive attitude at work with good teamwork,
time away from routine clinical work and appreciation received helped to
relieve the emotional and psychological stress faced.
Conclusion: It is essential to explore appropriate
interventions for HCW with low resilience to better assist the coping
mechanism during this pandemic. Stressors identified and feedback
received through this study are useful for implementing supportive
workforce resources during an infectious disease outbreak.
Keywords: COVID-19, Resilience, Emotions, Healthcare workers,
Obstetrics and Gynaecology
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