Healthcare workers perceptions in the difficult moment of the end of life and coping strategies adopted during the covid-19 pandemic

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Vitale Elsa

Local Health Authority, Italy

: J Nurs Patient Care

Abstract

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Statement of the Problem: In a society that tries so hard to forget and make people forget that death exists, death has never been so close to man in his daily life as during this pandemic. Health care professionals have therefore all too often had to deal with the death of the people they care for and with related issues such as, for example, the dignity of death, the humanization of death and care for the dying.The aim of the study is to highlight the perceptions of physicians, nurses and health and social workers in the difficult moment of the end of life, also analyzing which coping strategies were implemented by them. Methodology & Theoretical Orientation: An on line questionnaire was administered to Italian physicians, nurses and social health workers, by investigating in depth the meaning that the participants attributed to the death event thanks to the COPE-NVI-25 questionnaire associated to some socio-demographic characteristics, as: sex, age, years of work experience, professional role, religious believes, Covid-19 ward assignment, the perception of their training relating to the death event and any difficulties related to the death event, respectively. Findings: A total of 512 healthcare workers were enrolled in this study. By considering values of each sub dimensions of the COPE-NVI-25 scale according to each socio-demographic characteristic, significant differences were reported in the problem orientation sub dimension and age (p=.010), as participants aged from 31 to 40 years reported higher levels in this ability during the death event than the other participants, according to age sub groups. Additionally, health care workers with 11-20 years of work experience reported higher levels of transcendent orientation that the others (p=.047). Moreover, catholic believers reported significantly higher levels in transcendent orientation sub dimension (p=.032), also in positive attitude (p=.030) and in social support (p=.035), than other religions by referring the caring during the death event. Conclusion & Significance: The end of life is a crucial passage and at the same times a challenge for health care systems, a stimulus to confront the profound reasons of medicine and its limits, guaranteeing the patient’s sense of dignity

Biography

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Vitale is a PhD in Applied Morph biology and Cytometabolism of Drugs. She is a nurse at the Local Health Authority Bari, Italy, at the Mental Health Department. She is a contract professor for the first and second level degree in nursing disciplines, at the University of Bari, specifically in physical and mental disability nursing disciplines and also in nursing management. She is also a lecturer in research methodology for health professions.