Experiences of environmental services workers in a tertiary hospital in Asia during the COVID-19 pandemic: a qualitative study
BackgroundThe Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic has had a significant impact on all walks of life, in particular, environmental services workers in healthcare settings had higher workload, increased stress and greater susceptibility to COVID-19 infections during the pandemic. Despite exte...
| Main Authors: | , , , , , , |
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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Frontiers Media S.A.
2023-06-01
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| Series: | Frontiers in Public Health |
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| Online Access: | https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fpubh.2023.1178054/full |
| _version_ | 1797811014608093184 |
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| author | Qin Xiang Ng Nicholas Ye Kai Koh Xiaohui Xin Humairah Zainal Jack Thian Tan Julian Thumboo Julian Thumboo Kok Yong Fong Kok Yong Fong |
| author_facet | Qin Xiang Ng Nicholas Ye Kai Koh Xiaohui Xin Humairah Zainal Jack Thian Tan Julian Thumboo Julian Thumboo Kok Yong Fong Kok Yong Fong |
| author_sort | Qin Xiang Ng |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | BackgroundThe Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic has had a significant impact on all walks of life, in particular, environmental services workers in healthcare settings had higher workload, increased stress and greater susceptibility to COVID-19 infections during the pandemic. Despite extensive literature describing the impact of the pandemic on healthcare workers such as doctors and nurses, studies on the lived experiences of environmental services workers in healthcare settings are sparse and none has been conducted in the Asian context. This qualitative study thus aimed to examine the experiences of those who worked for a year of the COVID-19 pandemic.MethodsA purposive sample of environmental services workers was recruited from a major tertiary hospital in Singapore. Semi-structured interviews were conducted in-person, lasting around 30min, and included open-ended questions pertaining to five main domains: work experiences during COVID-19, training and education needs, resource and supplies availability, communication with management and other healthcare staff, and perceived stressors and support. These domains were identified based on team discussions and literature review. The interviews were recorded and transcribed for thematic analysis, as guided by Braun and Clarke.ResultsA total of 12 environmental services workers were interviewed. After the first seven interviews, no new themes emerged but an additional five interviews were done to ensure data saturation. The analysis yielded three main themes and nine subthemes, including (1) practical and health concerns, (2) coping and resilience, and (3) occupational adaptations during the pandemic. Many expressed confidence in the preventive efficacy of proper PPE, infection control practice and COVID-19 vaccination in protecting them against COVID-19 and severe illness. Having prior experience with infectious disease outbreaks and previous training in infection control and prevention appeared to be useful as well for these workers. Despite the various challenges presented by the pandemic, they could still find meaning in their everyday work by positively impacting the wellbeing of patients and other healthcare workers in the hospital.ConclusionBesides uncovering the concerns shared by these workers, we identified helpful coping strategies, resilience factors and certain occupational adaptations, which have implications for future pandemic planning and readiness. |
| first_indexed | 2024-03-13T07:17:24Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-bfde411905274e1fbfc9a7537432b8c6 |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 2296-2565 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-03-13T07:17:24Z |
| publishDate | 2023-06-01 |
| publisher | Frontiers Media S.A. |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Frontiers in Public Health |
| spelling | doaj.art-bfde411905274e1fbfc9a7537432b8c62023-06-05T04:39:59ZengFrontiers Media S.A.Frontiers in Public Health2296-25652023-06-011110.3389/fpubh.2023.11780541178054Experiences of environmental services workers in a tertiary hospital in Asia during the COVID-19 pandemic: a qualitative studyQin Xiang Ng0Nicholas Ye Kai Koh1Xiaohui Xin2Humairah Zainal3Jack Thian Tan4Julian Thumboo5Julian Thumboo6Kok Yong Fong7Kok Yong Fong8Singapore General Hospital, Singapore, SingaporeNUS Yong Loo Lin School of Medicine, National University of Singapore, Singapore, SingaporeSingapore General Hospital, Singapore, SingaporeSingapore General Hospital, Singapore, SingaporeSingapore General Hospital, Singapore, SingaporeSingapore General Hospital, Singapore, SingaporeDuke-NUS Medical School, National University of Singapore, Singapore, SingaporeSingapore General Hospital, Singapore, SingaporeDuke-NUS Medical School, National University of Singapore, Singapore, SingaporeBackgroundThe Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic has had a significant impact on all walks of life, in particular, environmental services workers in healthcare settings had higher workload, increased stress and greater susceptibility to COVID-19 infections during the pandemic. Despite extensive literature describing the impact of the pandemic on healthcare workers such as doctors and nurses, studies on the lived experiences of environmental services workers in healthcare settings are sparse and none has been conducted in the Asian context. This qualitative study thus aimed to examine the experiences of those who worked for a year of the COVID-19 pandemic.MethodsA purposive sample of environmental services workers was recruited from a major tertiary hospital in Singapore. Semi-structured interviews were conducted in-person, lasting around 30min, and included open-ended questions pertaining to five main domains: work experiences during COVID-19, training and education needs, resource and supplies availability, communication with management and other healthcare staff, and perceived stressors and support. These domains were identified based on team discussions and literature review. The interviews were recorded and transcribed for thematic analysis, as guided by Braun and Clarke.ResultsA total of 12 environmental services workers were interviewed. After the first seven interviews, no new themes emerged but an additional five interviews were done to ensure data saturation. The analysis yielded three main themes and nine subthemes, including (1) practical and health concerns, (2) coping and resilience, and (3) occupational adaptations during the pandemic. Many expressed confidence in the preventive efficacy of proper PPE, infection control practice and COVID-19 vaccination in protecting them against COVID-19 and severe illness. Having prior experience with infectious disease outbreaks and previous training in infection control and prevention appeared to be useful as well for these workers. Despite the various challenges presented by the pandemic, they could still find meaning in their everyday work by positively impacting the wellbeing of patients and other healthcare workers in the hospital.ConclusionBesides uncovering the concerns shared by these workers, we identified helpful coping strategies, resilience factors and certain occupational adaptations, which have implications for future pandemic planning and readiness.https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fpubh.2023.1178054/fullCOVID-19environmental services workersqualitative studypandemicwork |
| spellingShingle | Qin Xiang Ng Nicholas Ye Kai Koh Xiaohui Xin Humairah Zainal Jack Thian Tan Julian Thumboo Julian Thumboo Kok Yong Fong Kok Yong Fong Experiences of environmental services workers in a tertiary hospital in Asia during the COVID-19 pandemic: a qualitative study Frontiers in Public Health COVID-19 environmental services workers qualitative study pandemic work |
| title | Experiences of environmental services workers in a tertiary hospital in Asia during the COVID-19 pandemic: a qualitative study |
| title_full | Experiences of environmental services workers in a tertiary hospital in Asia during the COVID-19 pandemic: a qualitative study |
| title_fullStr | Experiences of environmental services workers in a tertiary hospital in Asia during the COVID-19 pandemic: a qualitative study |
| title_full_unstemmed | Experiences of environmental services workers in a tertiary hospital in Asia during the COVID-19 pandemic: a qualitative study |
| title_short | Experiences of environmental services workers in a tertiary hospital in Asia during the COVID-19 pandemic: a qualitative study |
| title_sort | experiences of environmental services workers in a tertiary hospital in asia during the covid 19 pandemic a qualitative study |
| topic | COVID-19 environmental services workers qualitative study pandemic work |
| url | https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fpubh.2023.1178054/full |
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