Evidence map›Paper›PMID 38382952›Full record

ArticleBMJ open2024

Worry perception and its association with work conditions among healthcare workers during the first wave of the COVID-19 pandemic: a web-based multimethod survey at a university hospital in Sweden.

Eirini Alexiou, Helle Wijk, Magnus Åkerström, Ingibjörg H Jonsdottir, Alessio Degl' Innocenti, Linda Ahlstrom

Open access · goldAbstract read
In one paragraph

Article in BMJ open, 2024. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 1 paper.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
1citing papers in PubMed
1.3field-weighted citation impact, top 23% of its field
1 · What the graph read from it

What it found

Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.

The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.

2 · The registry

The trial behind it

Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.

Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.

3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

1 citing paper in PubMed, 2 citations in OpenAlex.

  1. Article
4 · The record

Corrections and comments

PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

6 authors at 2 institutions in 1 country.

Eirini AlexiouDepartment of Forensic Psychiatry, Sahlgrenska University Hospital, Gothenburg, Sweden eirini.alexiou@vgregion.se.ORCID 0000-0001-5745-1994
Helle WijkDepartment of Quality Strategies, Sahlgrenska University Hospital, Gothenburg, Sweden.
Magnus ÅkerströmInstitute of Stress Medicine, Gothenburg, Sweden.ORCID 0000-0002-8469-6193
Ingibjörg H JonsdottirInstitute of Stress Medicine, Gothenburg, Sweden.ORCID 0000-0003-2289-9646
Alessio Degl' InnocentiCenter for Ethics, Law, and Mental Health (CELAM), Sahlgrenska Academy, University of Gothenburg, Gothenburg, Sweden.
Linda AhlstromInstitute of Health and Care Sciences, Sahlgrenska Academy, University of Gothenburg, Gothenburg, Sweden.ORCID 0000-0002-3372-8722
Sahlgrenska University Hospital · SEUniversity of Gothenburg · SE

Funding

No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.

6 · The paper itself

Abstract

objectivesIn this study, we explored healthcare workers' (HCWs) worry perception and its association with their work situation during the first wave of the COVID-19 pandemic.

designA web-based multimethods survey including multiple choice and open-ended questions was used.

settingThe study was conducted at a university hospital in Sweden.

participantsAll HCWs who were working during the first wave of the COVID-19 pandemic in March-June 2020 were eligible. HCWs (n=6484, response rate=41%) from 69 departments fulfilled the study inclusion criteria and responded to the survey. Of them, we analysed data from the 3532 participants who replied to the open-ended questions (54% of the respondents). MAIN OUTCOMES MEASURES: Worry perception and its association with work conditions among HCWs.

results29% (n=1822) and 35% (n=2235) of the responding HCWs experienced a daily or more than daily strong worry of being infected or infecting others with SARS-CoV-2. This finding could be further confirmed and explored with themes from the qualitative results: 'ambiguity of feeling safe and secure', 'being obliged to adapt to a new reality' and 'into the unknown'. The themes consisted of 6 main categories and 15 subcategories. The findings revealed that the two main drivers of worry perceived by HCWs were lack of personal protective equipment and fear of bringing the virus home to their families and friends.

conclusionsWorries of getting infected are common among HCWs during crises such as the COVID-19 pandemic. Several factors are raised that plausibly could minimise the negative effects of worry among HCWs. Thus, effective preventive work plans should be created, promoted and communicated in order to minimise the effects of such crises and support HCWs. By focusing on effective communication and preparedness, including access to relevant protective equipment and providing general support to HCWs, the work environment and patient care could be sustained during a crisis such as the COVID-19 pandemic.

Indexed as

COVID-19Health PersonnelHospitals, UniversityHumansInternetPandemicsPerceptionSARS-CoV-2SwedenCOVID-19health workforceoccupational & industrial medicine

Identifiers

PMID38382952
PMCPMC10882285
OpenAlexW4392005161

What OpenQuestion holds

Textmetadata
LicenceCC BY
Read underepoch 390

Registered trials

None linked

Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.