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Work-related experiences of consultant psychiatrists during the COVID-19 response: qualitative analysis

BACKGROUND: Research has begun to draw attention to the challenges mental health professionals faced in delivering services during the COVID-19 pandemic response. However, few studies have examined the specific experiences of consultant psychiatrists. AIMS: To examine the work-related experiences an...

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Autores principales: O'Donnell, Shane, Quigley, Etain, Hayden, John, Adamis, Dimitrios, Gavin, Blánaid, McNicholas, Fiona
Formato: Online Artículo Texto
Lenguaje:English
Publicado: Cambridge University Press 2023
Materias:
Acceso en línea:https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC10044173/
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/36876639
http://dx.doi.org/10.1192/bjo.2023.11
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author O'Donnell, Shane
Quigley, Etain
Hayden, John
Adamis, Dimitrios
Gavin, Blánaid
McNicholas, Fiona
author_facet O'Donnell, Shane
Quigley, Etain
Hayden, John
Adamis, Dimitrios
Gavin, Blánaid
McNicholas, Fiona
author_sort O'Donnell, Shane
collection PubMed
description BACKGROUND: Research has begun to draw attention to the challenges mental health professionals faced in delivering services during the COVID-19 pandemic response. However, few studies have examined the specific experiences of consultant psychiatrists. AIMS: To examine the work-related experiences and psychosocial needs of consultant psychiatrists situated in the Republic of Ireland arising from the COVID-19 response. METHOD: We interviewed 18 consultant psychiatrists and analysed data using inductive thematic analysis. RESULTS: Work-related experience of participants was characterised by increased workload associated with assumption of guardianship of physical and mental health of vulnerable patients. Unintended consequences of public health restrictions increased case complexity, limited availability of alternative supports and hindered the practice of psychiatry, including inhibiting peer support systems for psychiatrists. Participants perceived available psychological supports as generally unsuitable for their needs given their specialty. Long-standing under-resourcing, mistrust in management and high levels of burnout exacerbated the psychological burden of the COVID-19 response. CONCLUSIONS: The challenges of leading mental health services were evident in the increased complexity involved in caring for vulnerable patients during the pandemic, contributing to uncertainty, loss of control and moral distress among participants. These dynamics worked synergistically with pre-existing system-level failures, eroding capacity to mount an effective response. The longer-term psychological well-being of consultant psychiatrists – as well as the pandemic preparedness of healthcare systems – is contingent on implementation of policies addressing long-standing under-investment in the services vulnerable populations rely on, not least community mental health services.
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spelling pubmed-100441732023-03-29 Work-related experiences of consultant psychiatrists during the COVID-19 response: qualitative analysis O'Donnell, Shane Quigley, Etain Hayden, John Adamis, Dimitrios Gavin, Blánaid McNicholas, Fiona BJPsych Open Paper BACKGROUND: Research has begun to draw attention to the challenges mental health professionals faced in delivering services during the COVID-19 pandemic response. However, few studies have examined the specific experiences of consultant psychiatrists. AIMS: To examine the work-related experiences and psychosocial needs of consultant psychiatrists situated in the Republic of Ireland arising from the COVID-19 response. METHOD: We interviewed 18 consultant psychiatrists and analysed data using inductive thematic analysis. RESULTS: Work-related experience of participants was characterised by increased workload associated with assumption of guardianship of physical and mental health of vulnerable patients. Unintended consequences of public health restrictions increased case complexity, limited availability of alternative supports and hindered the practice of psychiatry, including inhibiting peer support systems for psychiatrists. Participants perceived available psychological supports as generally unsuitable for their needs given their specialty. Long-standing under-resourcing, mistrust in management and high levels of burnout exacerbated the psychological burden of the COVID-19 response. CONCLUSIONS: The challenges of leading mental health services were evident in the increased complexity involved in caring for vulnerable patients during the pandemic, contributing to uncertainty, loss of control and moral distress among participants. These dynamics worked synergistically with pre-existing system-level failures, eroding capacity to mount an effective response. The longer-term psychological well-being of consultant psychiatrists – as well as the pandemic preparedness of healthcare systems – is contingent on implementation of policies addressing long-standing under-investment in the services vulnerable populations rely on, not least community mental health services. Cambridge University Press 2023-03-06 /pmc/articles/PMC10044173/ /pubmed/36876639 http://dx.doi.org/10.1192/bjo.2023.11 Text en © The Author(s) 2023 https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/This is an Open Access article, distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution licence (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/), which permits unrestricted re-use, distribution and reproduction, provided the original article is properly cited.
spellingShingle Paper
O'Donnell, Shane
Quigley, Etain
Hayden, John
Adamis, Dimitrios
Gavin, Blánaid
McNicholas, Fiona
Work-related experiences of consultant psychiatrists during the COVID-19 response: qualitative analysis
title Work-related experiences of consultant psychiatrists during the COVID-19 response: qualitative analysis
title_full Work-related experiences of consultant psychiatrists during the COVID-19 response: qualitative analysis
title_fullStr Work-related experiences of consultant psychiatrists during the COVID-19 response: qualitative analysis
title_full_unstemmed Work-related experiences of consultant psychiatrists during the COVID-19 response: qualitative analysis
title_short Work-related experiences of consultant psychiatrists during the COVID-19 response: qualitative analysis
title_sort work-related experiences of consultant psychiatrists during the covid-19 response: qualitative analysis
topic Paper
url https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC10044173/
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/36876639
http://dx.doi.org/10.1192/bjo.2023.11
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