Abstract

The emergence of the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) has had a negative impact on the psychological and mental wellbeing of healthcare workers. The purpose of this study was to explore and describe the psychological and emotional challenges that healthcare workers experienced when they contracted COVID-19.An interpretative phenomenological approach was undertaken. In-depth interviews were used to collect data virtually from ten purposefully sampled healthcare workers.The findings of the study revealed that participants experienced negative emotions, overwhelming stress as a result of poor communication of COVID-19 results, self-blame in contracting the infection, fear of dying from COVID-19, infecting others, and reinfection. Furthermore, psychological distress related to uncertainty regarding COVID-19 infection/recovery, uncertainty worsened by lack of institutional support resulting in stress, confusion, shock and frustration. Lastly, stigma and discrimination related to COVID-19 infection were common experiences and were evidenced by rejection by colleagues, stigmatisation of families, and fear of disclosure of the positive COVID-19 results.In conclusion, emphasis is placed on providing comprehensive, differentiated psychosocial support to the healthcare workers who have contracted COVID-19 to enhance their mental wellbeing during and after the pandemic.

摘要

2019 年冠状病毒病 (COVID-19) 的出现对医护人员的心理和心理健康产生了负面影响。本研究的目的是探索和描述医护人员在感染 COVID-19 时所经历的心理和情感挑战。采用了一种解释性的现象学方法。深入访谈被用来从十名有目的地抽样的医疗保健工作者那里收集数据。研究结果表明，由于 COVID-19 结果的沟通不畅，参与者经历了负面情绪、压倒性压力、感染了自责，害怕死于 COVID-19、感染他人和再次感染。此外，与 COVID-19 感染/恢复的不确定性相关的心理困扰，缺乏体制支持会加剧不确定性，导致压力、困惑、震惊和沮丧。最后，与 COVID-19 感染相关的污名和歧视是常见的经历，其证据是同事的拒绝、家庭的污名化以及对 COVID-19 阳性结果的披露的恐惧。总之，重点是提供全面、差异化的社会心理为感染 COVID-19 的医护人员提供支持，以提高他们在大流行期间和之后的心理健康。