The COVID-19 Clinician Cohort (CoCCo) Study: Empirically grounded recommendations for forward-facing psychological care of frontline doctors

Daniels, Jo; Ingram, Jenny; Pease, Anna; Wainwright, Elaine; Beckett, Kate; Iyadurai, Lalitha; Harris, Sophie; Donnelly, Olivia; Roberts, Tom; Carlton, Edward

Abstract

This study aimed to develop empirically grounded recommendations and a coherent model of psychological care derived from the experiences and psychological care needs of COVID-19 frontline doctors, using semi-structured interviews and thematic analysis. Participants were UK frontline doctors specialising in Emergency Medicine, Anaesthetics, or Intensive Care (n = 31) purposively sampled for maximum variation on gender, specialty, ethnicity, and trauma-related dis-tress; most worked in ICU during the pandemic (71%). Four themes were derived: (1) ‘coping strategies’, participants used many, including exercise, mindfulness, and “wait until it gets really bad”; (2) ‘sources of support’, participants valued embedded psychological support, digital services, and informal conversations with colleagues or family, though there was little opportunity; (3) ‘organisational influences on wellbeing’, participants reported a love–hate relationship for concepts like ‘wellbeing’, seen as important but insulting when basic workplace needs were unmet; (4) ‘improving engagement with support’, analysis suggests we must reduce physical and psychological barriers to access and encourage leaders to model psychologically supportive behaviours. Doctors’ front-line COVID-19 working experiences shine a ‘spotlight’ on pre-existing problems such as lack of physical resources and access to psychological care. Empirically grounded recommendations and a model of incremental psychological care are presented for use in clinical services.

• Journal Article Type: Article
• Acceptance Date: Sep 6, 2021
• Online Publication Date: Sep 14, 2021
• Publication Date: Sep 14, 2021
• Deposit Date: Sep 15, 2021
• Publicly Available Date: Sep 15, 2021
• Journal: International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health
• Print ISSN: 1661-7827
• Electronic ISSN: 1660-4601
• Publisher: MDPI
• Peer Reviewed: Peer Reviewed
• Volume: 18
• Issue: 18
• Article Number: 9675
• DOI: https://doi.org/10.3390/ijerph18189675
• Keywords: COVID-19; frontline workers; healthcare workers; qualitative research; trauma; psychological support; occupational health; guidelines
• Public URL: https://uwe-repository.worktribe.com/output/7768855