Table 4 Themes, sub-themes and strategies
Theme | Subthemes | Strategies | Number of references |
|---|---|---|---|
Instruction | Creating educational networks | Creating educational networks to share successful experiences and the most up-to-date information about the disease, ways of prevention, protection, and treatment measures | 7 |
Providing educational programs | Meeting the educational needs of HCWs in various aspects, including lifestyle, mental health, mental exercises such as mindfulness practices or meditation, clinical skills innovation implementation stages, and infection control methods Use of webinars, software, QR codes, text messages or presented websites, and digital packages to facilitate staff educating Provide preparedness plans to deal more with emergencies | 24 | |
Protection | Virtual practicing | Use of telemedicine for in-home screening Referral stations to the medical staff via video communication Using Tele-ICU | 7 |
Protective measures and equipment supply | Supplying personal protective equipment Providing vaccines and diagnostic tests for medical staff and their families Establishing a suitable place to quarantining sick and suspicious HCWs Disinfection of surfaces regularly Considering transportation facilities for HCWs to prevent disease transmission | 20 | |
Revising and adjusting work shifts | Using special staffing models Not using vulnerable people (elderly, physically weak, etc.) in the frontline Reorganizing work shifts to reduce the spread of disease among HCWs | 4 | |
Early detection | Continuous monitoring of the condition of the HCWs for early detection Quarantining the suspicious or sick staff | 3 | |
Supporting | Psychological support | Organizing a specialized psychological team to provide counseling Establishing psychological first aid platform to provide counseling Celebrating patients' recovery to boost positive energy Allocating space to keep alive the memory of deceased HCWs Arranging breathing exercises to reduce work-related stress Helping the work community by make meaning of the event, and then helping personnel to look hopefully to the future Sending supportive and motivational messages to patients, managers, and prominent social activists Limit exposure to disaster related and other negative media | 21 |
Peer support | Creating a culture of support and a sincere atmosphere among HCWs to support each other Holding Schwartz rounds | 20 | |
Welfare facilities | Considering the appropriate space and time for HCWs to rest Providing parking, lodging & allocating centers for child care staff Providing easy access to healthy water and food for HCWs | 12 | |
Professional support | Delegation of powers for decentralized decision-making Involvement of HCWs in the decision-making process Establishing organizational justice and creating a flexible organizational culture to increase teamwork atmosphere Rewards and financial support Design resilience model to anticipate, plan and deter responder risk HCW support during disputes with patients' families Facilitating communication between the patient and his family to reduce the workload caused by the supportive role of the treatment staff | 11 | |
Workload support | Recruitment of new employee Developing a clear and realistic plan to reduce workload Deprioritize non-essential projects to reduce workload Organizing volunteer forces to compensate for labor shortages Strategic distribution of human resources by reviewing the work-shift program Using a support team consisting of specialists ready to work in various fields, including palliative medicine and dental team | 15 | |
Caring | Psychological care services | Using health applications to provide medical services Holding group therapy sessions and using special treatment techniques such as CBT Retraining counselors and psychologists and teach them treatment techniques to provide adequate human resources Use Medications for depression, anxiety, sleep disorders, or a combination of any or all of these | 10 |
Non-psychological care services | Prioritizing HCWs and their families in treatment and drug allocation Providing services through narrative medicine | 3 | |
Communication | Active communication | Establishing explicit, effective, and honest communication from the manager with the staff Managers' personal visits to the departments and have regular sessions to check and compensate for the shortcomings various areas | 15 |
Passive communication | Creating a communication network to receive feedback Setting up hotlines to hear the HCWs' concerns | 5 |