Breathing Rooms: A Strategy to Improve the Performance of Healthcare Workers During COVID-19 and Future Pandemics

Healthcare workers (HCWs), as frontline soldiers in the fight against COVID-19, were more exposed to the risk of contracting this disease. In addition to facing psychological, social, and physical trauma and post-traumatic stress due to the corona pandemic, HCWs were also exposed to complications du...

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Bibliographic Details
Main Authors: Naeimeh Sarkhani Bs.C, Ms.C, Nafiseh Zarei Bs.C, Ms.C, Nasrin Nikpeyma PhD
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: SAGE Publishing 2023-07-01
Series:SAGE Open Nursing
Online Access:https://doi.org/10.1177/23779608231187483
Description
Summary:Healthcare workers (HCWs), as frontline soldiers in the fight against COVID-19, were more exposed to the risk of contracting this disease. In addition to facing psychological, social, and physical trauma and post-traumatic stress due to the corona pandemic, HCWs were also exposed to complications due to the use of personal protective equipment (PPE). The impermeable and confining nature of some PPE poses complications for HCWs that can endanger their physical health, while also affecting the quality of healthcare they provide. Among the complications of using PPE, respiratory problems are more worrisome than other complications. This article makes a suggestion of a breathing room (BR) to improve the health and performance of HCWs in caring for patients with infectious respiratory diseases. A debate on the strengths of the implementation of a BR in hospitals is described.
ISSN:2377-9608