Precarity and preparedness during the SARS‐CoV‐2 pandemic: A qualitative service evaluation of maternity healthcare professionals

INTRODUCTION: The SARS‐CoV‐2 pandemic has devastated populations, posing unprecedented challenges for healthcare services, staff and service‐users. In the UK, rapid reconfiguration of maternity healthcare service provision changed the landscape of antenatal, intrapartum and postnatal care. This stud...

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Autores principales: De Backer, Kaat, Brown, Jeremy M., Easter, Abigail, Khazaezadeh, Nina, Rajasingam, Daghni, Sandall, Jane, Magee, Laura A., Silverio, Sergio A.
Formato: Online Artículo Texto
Lenguaje:English
Publicado: John Wiley and Sons Inc. 2022
Materias:
Acceso en línea:https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC9538337/
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/35950575
http://dx.doi.org/10.1111/aogs.14438
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author De Backer, Kaat
Brown, Jeremy M.
Easter, Abigail
Khazaezadeh, Nina
Rajasingam, Daghni
Sandall, Jane
Magee, Laura A.
Silverio, Sergio A.
author_facet De Backer, Kaat
Brown, Jeremy M.
Easter, Abigail
Khazaezadeh, Nina
Rajasingam, Daghni
Sandall, Jane
Magee, Laura A.
Silverio, Sergio A.
author_sort De Backer, Kaat
collection PubMed
description INTRODUCTION: The SARS‐CoV‐2 pandemic has devastated populations, posing unprecedented challenges for healthcare services, staff and service‐users. In the UK, rapid reconfiguration of maternity healthcare service provision changed the landscape of antenatal, intrapartum and postnatal care. This study aimed to explore the experiences of maternity services staff who provided maternity care during the SARS‐CoV‐2 pandemic to inform future improvements in care. MATERIAL AND METHODS: A qualitative interview service evaluation was undertaken at a single maternity service in an NHS Trust, South London. Respondents (n = 29) were recruited using a critical case purposeful sample of maternity services staff. Interviews were conducted using video‐conferencing software, and were transcribed and analyzed using Grounded Theory Analysis appropriate for cross‐disciplinary health research. The focus of analysis was on staff experiences of delivering maternity services and care during the SARS‐CoV‐2 pandemic. RESULTS: A theory of “Precarity and Preparedness” was developed, comprising three main emergent themes: “Endemic precarity: A health system under pressure”; “A top‐down approach to managing the health system shock”; and “From un(der)‐prepared to future flourishing”. CONCLUSIONS: Maternity services in the UK were under significant strain and were inherently precarious. This was exacerbated by the SARS‐CoV‐2 pandemic, which saw further disruption to service provision, fragmentation of care and pre‐existing staff shortages. Positive changes are required to improve staff retention and team cohesion, and ensure patient‐centered care remains at the heart of maternity care.
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spelling pubmed-95383372022-10-11 Precarity and preparedness during the SARS‐CoV‐2 pandemic: A qualitative service evaluation of maternity healthcare professionals De Backer, Kaat Brown, Jeremy M. Easter, Abigail Khazaezadeh, Nina Rajasingam, Daghni Sandall, Jane Magee, Laura A. Silverio, Sergio A. Acta Obstet Gynecol Scand Original Research Articles INTRODUCTION: The SARS‐CoV‐2 pandemic has devastated populations, posing unprecedented challenges for healthcare services, staff and service‐users. In the UK, rapid reconfiguration of maternity healthcare service provision changed the landscape of antenatal, intrapartum and postnatal care. This study aimed to explore the experiences of maternity services staff who provided maternity care during the SARS‐CoV‐2 pandemic to inform future improvements in care. MATERIAL AND METHODS: A qualitative interview service evaluation was undertaken at a single maternity service in an NHS Trust, South London. Respondents (n = 29) were recruited using a critical case purposeful sample of maternity services staff. Interviews were conducted using video‐conferencing software, and were transcribed and analyzed using Grounded Theory Analysis appropriate for cross‐disciplinary health research. The focus of analysis was on staff experiences of delivering maternity services and care during the SARS‐CoV‐2 pandemic. RESULTS: A theory of “Precarity and Preparedness” was developed, comprising three main emergent themes: “Endemic precarity: A health system under pressure”; “A top‐down approach to managing the health system shock”; and “From un(der)‐prepared to future flourishing”. CONCLUSIONS: Maternity services in the UK were under significant strain and were inherently precarious. This was exacerbated by the SARS‐CoV‐2 pandemic, which saw further disruption to service provision, fragmentation of care and pre‐existing staff shortages. Positive changes are required to improve staff retention and team cohesion, and ensure patient‐centered care remains at the heart of maternity care. John Wiley and Sons Inc. 2022-08-11 /pmc/articles/PMC9538337/ /pubmed/35950575 http://dx.doi.org/10.1111/aogs.14438 Text en © 2022 The Authors. Acta Obstetricia et Gynecologica Scandinavica published by John Wiley & Sons Ltd on behalf of Nordic Federation of Societies of Obstetrics and Gynecology (NFOG). https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/This is an open access article under the terms of the http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/ (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/) License, which permits use, distribution and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.
spellingShingle Original Research Articles
De Backer, Kaat
Brown, Jeremy M.
Easter, Abigail
Khazaezadeh, Nina
Rajasingam, Daghni
Sandall, Jane
Magee, Laura A.
Silverio, Sergio A.
Precarity and preparedness during the SARS‐CoV‐2 pandemic: A qualitative service evaluation of maternity healthcare professionals
title Precarity and preparedness during the SARS‐CoV‐2 pandemic: A qualitative service evaluation of maternity healthcare professionals
title_full Precarity and preparedness during the SARS‐CoV‐2 pandemic: A qualitative service evaluation of maternity healthcare professionals
title_fullStr Precarity and preparedness during the SARS‐CoV‐2 pandemic: A qualitative service evaluation of maternity healthcare professionals
title_full_unstemmed Precarity and preparedness during the SARS‐CoV‐2 pandemic: A qualitative service evaluation of maternity healthcare professionals
title_short Precarity and preparedness during the SARS‐CoV‐2 pandemic: A qualitative service evaluation of maternity healthcare professionals
title_sort precarity and preparedness during the sars‐cov‐2 pandemic: a qualitative service evaluation of maternity healthcare professionals
topic Original Research Articles
url https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC9538337/
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/35950575
http://dx.doi.org/10.1111/aogs.14438
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