The COVID-19 pandemic has increased pressure on health systems, forcing staff to make critical decisions in environments with multiple adverse conditions. Combined with the fact that their patients often have no therapeutic options, healthcare workers usually end up experiencing a consequent sense of failure. Over extended periods, this situation can lead health personnel to experience acute stress reactions from emotional overload, as well as other affective pathologies or psychosomatic responses. Thus, this health crisis is visibilizing a problem that is already occurring with different degrees of intensity and in different contexts. Understanding those factors that improve the quality of care that professionals provide, as well as their own wellbeing, together with the detection of those which put their health at risk, is key for adequate healthcare institutions’ functioning.
Several studies have suggested that organizational factors, such as an adequate staff support, authentic leadership, and safety climate, can prevent professionals from suffering from stress and burnout. Recent research, however, has focused on the role of more individual aspects, including compassion, self-care, awareness, or adequate skills and competences, which can also diminish healthcare professionals’ burnout and compassion fatigue, while fostering compassionate care. Indeed, this same corpus of literature has started to link such outcomes with better health and wellbeing of our healthcare professionals, and even better quality of care of patients and lower error risk. In the context of a pandemic, protecting the health and wellbeing of our frontline workers is key. The study of such protective factors is our main goal with this Research Topic.
This Research Topic aims to offer the most current evidence that has been developed in this area, with special interest in those contributions that consider the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on frontline workers.
Specifically, the scope includes, among others:
• Impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on healthcare workers’ and wellness
• Preserving mental health and resilience among healthcare workers
• Healthcare workers’ quality of life and wellbeing
• Predictors of compassionate care in healthcare personnel
• Public health challenges regarding healthcare workers
• Posttraumatic stress in healthcare workers during the COVID-19 Pandemic
• Leadership style and professional quality of life among healthcare personnel
• Effective organizational policies to promote healthcare workers’ resilience and wellbeing
• Effects of burnout and compassion fatigue on quality of care
Therefore, scholars from psychology, psychiatry, nursing, medicine, public health, or sociology backgrounds are welcomed. Authors can submit original research, policy and practice review, literature review, scoping review, systematic review, mini review, study protocol, brief research report, case report, conceptual analysis, perspective, policy brief, data report, general commentary, or opinions.
The COVID-19 pandemic has increased pressure on health systems, forcing staff to make critical decisions in environments with multiple adverse conditions. Combined with the fact that their patients often have no therapeutic options, healthcare workers usually end up experiencing a consequent sense of failure. Over extended periods, this situation can lead health personnel to experience acute stress reactions from emotional overload, as well as other affective pathologies or psychosomatic responses. Thus, this health crisis is visibilizing a problem that is already occurring with different degrees of intensity and in different contexts. Understanding those factors that improve the quality of care that professionals provide, as well as their own wellbeing, together with the detection of those which put their health at risk, is key for adequate healthcare institutions’ functioning.
Several studies have suggested that organizational factors, such as an adequate staff support, authentic leadership, and safety climate, can prevent professionals from suffering from stress and burnout. Recent research, however, has focused on the role of more individual aspects, including compassion, self-care, awareness, or adequate skills and competences, which can also diminish healthcare professionals’ burnout and compassion fatigue, while fostering compassionate care. Indeed, this same corpus of literature has started to link such outcomes with better health and wellbeing of our healthcare professionals, and even better quality of care of patients and lower error risk. In the context of a pandemic, protecting the health and wellbeing of our frontline workers is key. The study of such protective factors is our main goal with this Research Topic.
This Research Topic aims to offer the most current evidence that has been developed in this area, with special interest in those contributions that consider the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on frontline workers.
Specifically, the scope includes, among others:
• Impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on healthcare workers’ and wellness
• Preserving mental health and resilience among healthcare workers
• Healthcare workers’ quality of life and wellbeing
• Predictors of compassionate care in healthcare personnel
• Public health challenges regarding healthcare workers
• Posttraumatic stress in healthcare workers during the COVID-19 Pandemic
• Leadership style and professional quality of life among healthcare personnel
• Effective organizational policies to promote healthcare workers’ resilience and wellbeing
• Effects of burnout and compassion fatigue on quality of care
Therefore, scholars from psychology, psychiatry, nursing, medicine, public health, or sociology backgrounds are welcomed. Authors can submit original research, policy and practice review, literature review, scoping review, systematic review, mini review, study protocol, brief research report, case report, conceptual analysis, perspective, policy brief, data report, general commentary, or opinions.
