Introduction
The article to be assessed is “The psychological well-being of primary healthcare nurses during COVID-19: A qualitative study” by Ashley et al. It was written with the intent to explore primary healthcare nurses’ psychological well-being related to the COVID-19 pandemic. The rapid spread of COVID-19 has caused a global public health disaster that has never before occurred (Ashley et al., 2021). COVID-19 has claimed the lives of millions of people and severely disrupted societies all over the world (Kidd, 2020). In many nations, healthcare workers are not only stressed owing to the enormous demand for healthcare, but they are also worried about the hazards to themselves and their households posed by providing essential public services (Yi et al., 2020). The majority of health workers are nurses who provide direct care in close enough proximity to clients and are therefore at a high risk of contracting communicable diseases during a pandemic and being exposed to pathogens (Lorente et al., 2021). The facts gathered and the conclusions drawn can be deemed current today for a critical review of the article since it was published in the first half of 2021.
Title and Authors
The title of the qualitative descriptive research is “The psychological well-being of primary healthcare nurses during COVID-19: A qualitative study”. This title fully describes the topic of the study, its type, its target audience, and the problem that will be covered. The authors of this article are Christine Ashley, Sharon James, Anna Williams, Kaara Calma, Susan Mcinnes, Ruth Mursa, Catherine Stephen, and Elizabeth Halcomb. All authors are either directly related to medicine and nursing or are teachers in this field (Ashley et al., 2021). All authors have approved the final draft, and at least one of the following requirements has been met: significant contributions to the idea and design, the collection, analysis, and analysis of findings, the writing of the piece, or its critical revision for significant intellectual substance.
Abstract
Ambulatory care nurses operating on the front lines of the COVID-19 outbreak were reported in early investigations as experiencing emotional trauma and higher levels of worry and despair. The increased patient abuse, poor communication of infection prevention and control, high patient mortality, insufficient supplies of safety equipment, and concern over spreading COVID-19 to family members have all been identified as contributing factors to the psychological aspects experienced by employees (Halcomb et al., 2020a). The study explores emotional well-being among primary healthcare (PHC) nurses rather than quantifying degrees of mental ill health. The effects of COVID-19 on the psychosocial adjustment and mental health of PHC nurses are referred to as the PHC nurses’ psychological well-being, which is a broad concept. The abstract section is a well-structured part of the work; after reading it, the reader can conclude the investigation and decide to continue studying it. Weaknesses in this section were not found.
Background
Nurses are essential healthcare providers in PHC who offer a variety of expert and generalized clinical outcomes under a variety of funding mechanisms to address community health needs. Although nurses have been employed in the Australian population for a long time, the nursing profession has just recently undergone considerable evolution; PHC nurses are crucial in epidemic situations (Lusher et al., 2020). They support the public health response, offer instruction on risk assessment and disease management, and enable continued access to healthcare services to deal with ongoing or urgent health conditions unconnected to the pandemic. The strength of this project is the urgency of the problem; the epidemic came to humanity abruptly and caused great harm to the whole world. The weak side of the project is the focus on one country, but this may be due to the personal goals of the authors to help a particular region.
Literature Review
According to the literature, nurses who work in hospital settings throughout the world have reacted differently to the COVID-19 pandemic and the earlier SARS outbreak. Both constructive coping mechanisms, like exercising and listening to music, and destructive coping mechanisms, such as blaming oneself, are included (Sampaio et al., 2020). The choice of approach is said to be influenced by various personalities and the presence of support systems like family and coworkers. Numerous individuals in this research showed using suitable coping mechanisms, including exercise and a balanced diet, which are typically considered to be personal decisions that promote health.
Additionally, they mentioned frequently taking time off and asking family and friends for help. Adverse psychological effects have been linked to a lack of psychosocial assistance (Dall’Ora et al., 2020). The coping mechanisms used by PHC nurses to respond to the challenges of working during a crisis like a pandemic should be further investigated in future studies (Sun et al., 2020). This will make it possible to promote successful methods and identify areas that need improvement. Focusing on coping mechanisms will be crucial for reducing the psychological toll on PHC nurses and for creating a risk management plan for subsequent pandemics.
The strength of the collected literature is relevant to the topic. Each selected article supplemented the study with data or facts. Thus, the authors could focus on their work. The weak side can be deduced from the irrelevance of some resources, some of the resources are dated more than five years ago, but this period exceeds the norms of academic writing. The authors confidently coped with the selected literature, indicating that this work can be trusted.
Aim
This study aimed to explore the psychological well-being of PHC nurses concerning the COVID-19 pandemic. The evaluation of this work consists of the analysis of the study from the stage of immersion in the topic to the analysis of the collected data. This assessment will allow other researchers to understand the quality of the work and be confident in its authenticity and relevance. In general, this assessment should contribute to nursing and be the basis for future research.
Methods
The work under review presents the findings of mixed-methods, continuous interpretative descriptive qualitative research. A countrywide survey questionnaire of nursing professionals with a master’s degree, nurse practitioners with a bachelor’s degree, or registered nurses with a diploma who were employed in the Australian PHC system was part of the project’s first phase (Ashley et al., 2021). This element suggests that since working, highly trained professionals were interviewed, the fraction of incorrect information is limited when determining the study’s outcomes. This method allows researchers to collect and structure data quickly. The strength of this method is the rapid structuring of the data, which allows the authors to analyze the data quickly. The weakness of this method is the unique environment for the people interviewed, which may reject some of the results.
This article discusses the subject from the second phase, which involved semi-structured discussions with a hand-picked group of volunteers from the responders. Other subjects are given individually due to the breadth and complexity of the data. A thorough yet direct account of participant experiences was given using a qualitative descriptive technique, enabling “close-to-data” conclusions and a greater comprehension of the phenomenon under study (Ashley et al., 2021). The information is organized into subtopics to reveal the general findings. Semi-structured interviews enable the interviewees to be less stressed while yet putting them in a position to give an honest assessment. The strength of this method is live communication with the interviewed people, which allows researchers to collect more information for processing. The weakness of this method is the unique environment for the people interviewed, which may reject some of the results.
Sampling and Data Collection
The survey’s 141 PHC nurses who answered said they would be open to being approached for an interview. Based on their occupation and demographic traits, potential volunteers were divided into groups. The research team then called nurses from each stratum to notify them about the study and request their participation. The date and time for the interview were scheduled if the nurse was game. In this section, weaknesses do not appear in any way since the restriction on the region is related to the purpose of the study. The strength of this section is the excellent selection of professionals who cover nursing in various aspects of health care.
Data Analysis
Interviews were recorded and transcribed, and interviewers took field notes to document their observations. While data saturation was initially thought to have occurred in 21 interviews, four more interviews were conducted to confirm this; each participant was interviewed once. An expert transcription business faithfully transcribes audio files. This article discusses the subject from the second phase, which involved semi-structured discussions with a hand-picked group of volunteers from the responders (Ashley et al., 2021). Other subjects are given individually due to the breadth and complexity of the data. A thorough yet direct account of discussed and addressed was given using a descriptive qualitative technique, enabling “close-to-data” inferences and a greater comprehension of the phenomenon under study. The information is organized into subareas to reveal the general findings. Semi-structured interviews involve the interviewees being less stressed while yet putting them in a position to give an honest assessment.
By comparing the transcripts with the coding scheme, emerging themes were examined. By doing this, it was possible to guarantee that the patterns were consistent and that the themes accurately reflected the meanings of the data. Each theme’s designation and significance were discussed among the team members until an agreement was reached. Since conflicting demands on their time and the possible hardship of reviewing the data, respondents were not actively involved in the assessment. The strength of data analysis is to provide an example of a conversation and analyze it directly. The weakness is that the analysis is only qualitative and not quantitative. The quantitative analysis could complete the picture with the help of percentages.
Results
The significance of social and professional support, as well as the acknowledgment of nurses’ contributions to the epidemic, have all favorably impacted people’s perceptions of their worth. Stress and anxiety levels rise as a result of unfavorable events’ psychological effects. A variety of self-help techniques were mentioned by participants, including greater attention to food and exercise as well as enhanced awareness of preventing infection at home and in the workplace (Huang et al., 2020). Although some respondents said that the negative psychological effect had led them to reevaluate their jobs, the majority of participants stayed upbeat about their responsibilities and career choices.
The study performed paints a current picture of the conditions related to the selected research topic. The reader is completely taken into the problem by this article, which includes background information, information gathering, and an interpretation of the data. As a result, the reader can assess the effort made and comprehend the scope of the issue. The strength of this work is the description of the findings from the work, which allows the reader to familiarize themselves with the study quickly. The weak side is the lack of results in the study; there is no results section in the work; they are presented only in the abstract.
Discussion
The psychological health of Australian PHC nurses during the COVID-19 epidemic is the subject of this study, which is the first qualitative investigation of its kind. PHC employees are crucial to the delivery of healthcare in the community, even though acute care nurses may encounter slightly different difficulties while caring for patients with more severe and urgent diseases (Labrague & de Los Santos, 2021). This study emphasizes how crucial it is to take into account COVID-19’s effects on nurses employed outside of acute hospitals. In comparison to other nations, Australia has seen a markedly reduced impact of COVID-19 in terms of illness and mortality rates (Halcomb et al., 2020b). The impact on the mental health of Australian PHC nurses, as seen in this study, highlights the need to recognize the needs of PHC nurses globally and create clear plans to assist their mental health as the globe begins to recover from the epidemic.
This difficulty is exacerbated by a lack of uniformity across the several enterprises and organizations that make up the PHC sector. Despite the difficulties, participation in corporate decision-making may boost employee engagement and loyalty (McKay et al., 2020). As a result, encouraging PHC nurses to participate in decision-making is necessary going forward (Jackson et al., 2020). To sustain employment security and working conditions for doctors during upcoming calamities or epidemics, efforts must be concentrated on ensuring that medical services, such as standard practices, are economically supported by the state through corporate rewards or relief packages (Smith et al., 2021). PHC nurses require assurances regarding their working circumstances and a sense of ownership over not just their choice of career and employment terms but also their place on the PHC team. The discussion section is an integral part of the work and occupies a solid place in the entire body. The strength of this section is the discussion of the qualitative results with allowance for any errors. The weak side is the provision of only qualitative data and not quantitative data.
Limitations
Interviewees were chosen from a nationwide online poll that was conducted in Australia during the first phase of COVID. Despite all efforts to extensively sample and disseminate study material via a variety of critical professional organizations and social media platforms, it is possible that the sample does not accurately reflect the whole target audience. Due to participant locations and social separation laws in effect at the time of data gathering, phone interviews had to be used in this study. Nevertheless, face-to-face surveys may have provided more detailed information.
Conclusion
During the pandemic, primary healthcare nurses were subjected to a variety of individual and career pressures that impacted their psychological health. Management of future support networks in the workplace requires an awareness of stresses and a knowledge of what has benefited and harmed well-being. The efficiency of the coping mechanisms employed by primary healthcare nurses and the long-term effects of these stresses require more research. To improve nurses’ health and well-being post-COVID-19, leaders and professional associations must address the personal and professional pressures that have affected the mental well-being of primary healthcare nurses. When evaluating this article, it was concluded that it is a high-quality example of work that respects the norms of academic writing and scientific work. The work is structured in such a way that the reader, unfamiliar with the topic, is gradually immersed in the scale of the situation.
References
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