The COVID-19 Clinician Cohort (CoCCo) Study: Empirically Grounded Recommendations for Forward-Facing Psychological Care of Frontline Doctors

Jo  Daniels; Jenny  Ingram; Anna  Pease; Elaine Wainwright; Kate  Beckett; Lalitha  Iyadurai; Sophie  Harris; Olivia  Donnelly; Tom  Roberts; Edward  Carlton

doi:10.3390/ijerph18189675

The COVID-19 Clinician Cohort (CoCCo) Study: Empirically Grounded Recommendations for Forward-Facing Psychological Care of Frontline Doctors

Jo Daniels^* (Corresponding Author), Jenny Ingram, Anna Pease, Elaine Wainwright, Kate Beckett , Lalitha Iyadurai, Sophie Harris , Olivia Donnelly, Tom Roberts , Edward Carlton

^*Corresponding author for this work

Applied Health Sciences

Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › peer-review

12 Citations (Scopus)

5 Downloads (Pure)

Abstract

This study aimed to develop empirically grounded recommendations and a coherent model of psychological care derived from the experiences and psychological care needs of COVID- 19 frontline doctors, using semi-structured interviews and thematic analysis. Participants were UK frontline doctors specialising in Emergency Medicine, Anaesthetics, or Intensive Care (n = 31) purposively sampled for maximum variation on gender, specialty, ethnicity, and trauma-related distress; most worked in ICU during the pandemic (71%). Four themes were derived: (1) ‘coping strategies’, participants used many, including exercise, mindfulness, and “wait until it gets really bad”; (2) ‘sources of support’, participants valued embedded psychological support, digital services, and informal conversations with colleagues or family, though there was little opportunity; (3) ‘organ- isational influences on wellbeing’, participants reported a love–hate relationship for concepts like
‘wellbeing’, seen as important but insulting when basic workplace needs were unmet; (4) ‘improving engagement with support’, analysis suggests we must reduce physical and psychological barriers to access and encourage leaders to model psychologically supportive behaviours. Doctors’ frontline COVID-19 working experiences shine a ‘spotlight’ on pre-existing problems such as lack of physical resources and access to psychological care. Empirically grounded recommendations and a model of incremental psychological care are presented for use in clinical services.

Original language	English
Article number	9675
Number of pages	18
Journal	International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health
Volume	18
DOIs	https://doi.org/10.3390/ijerph18189675
Publication status	Published - 14 Sept 2021

Bibliographical note

Funding: This research has been carried out through funding by the Southmead Hospital Charity Research Fund (Ref: 4922) and sponsored by North Bristol NHS trust. The funders had no role in considering the study design or in the collection, analysis, or interpretation of data, the writing of the report, or the decision to submit the article for publication.

Acknowledgments: The study authors would like to extend thanks to the Clinical Advisory Group: Daniel Horner (Consultant in Emergency and Critical Care Medicine, Salford Royal NHS Foundation Trust), Robert Hirst (Emergency Medicine registrar, Musgrove Park Hospital), Tom Roberts (Emer- gency Medicine registrar, North Bristol NHS Trust), Katie Samuel (Consultant Anaesthetist, North Bristol NHS Trust), Helen Williams (HSRC Clinical Research Fellow in Anaesthetics), and Etimbuk Umana (Specialist Registrar Emergency Department, Midland Regional Hospital, Tullamore) as well as the Expert Advisory Group: Neil Greenberg (Health Protection Research Unit, King’s College London and Royal College of Psychiatrists), Katherine Henderson (President of The Royal College of Emergency Medicine), Julie Highfield (British Psychological Society, Intensive Care Society), Ira Madan (Reader in Occupational Medicine), and Olivia Donnelly (Staff Wellbeing Psychology Ser- vice Lead, North Bristol NHS Trust). Thanks are also extended to the British Psychological Society for permitting adaptation of Figure 1 © 2020 British Psychological Society; the original version is available online.

Keywords

COVID-19
frontline workers
healthcare workers
qualitative research
trauma
psychological support
occupational heath
guidelines

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Cite this

Daniels, J., Ingram, J., Pease, A., Wainwright, E., Beckett , K., Iyadurai, L., Harris , S., Donnelly, O., Roberts , T., & Carlton, E. (2021). The COVID-19 Clinician Cohort (CoCCo) Study: Empirically Grounded Recommendations for Forward-Facing Psychological Care of Frontline Doctors. International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health, 18, Article 9675. https://doi.org/10.3390/ijerph18189675

The COVID-19 Clinician Cohort (CoCCo) Study: Empirically Grounded Recommendations for Forward-Facing Psychological Care of Frontline Doctors. / Daniels, Jo (Corresponding Author); Ingram, Jenny ; Pease, Anna et al.
In: International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health, Vol. 18, 9675, 14.09.2021.

Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › peer-review

Daniels, J, Ingram, J, Pease, A, Wainwright, E, Beckett , K, Iyadurai, L, Harris , S, Donnelly, O, Roberts , T & Carlton, E 2021, 'The COVID-19 Clinician Cohort (CoCCo) Study: Empirically Grounded Recommendations for Forward-Facing Psychological Care of Frontline Doctors', International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health, vol. 18, 9675. https://doi.org/10.3390/ijerph18189675

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note = "Funding: This research has been carried out through funding by the Southmead Hospital Charity Research Fund (Ref: 4922) and sponsored by North Bristol NHS trust. The funders had no role in considering the study design or in the collection, analysis, or interpretation of data, the writing of the report, or the decision to submit the article for publication. Acknowledgments: The study authors would like to extend thanks to the Clinical Advisory Group: Daniel Horner (Consultant in Emergency and Critical Care Medicine, Salford Royal NHS Foundation Trust), Robert Hirst (Emergency Medicine registrar, Musgrove Park Hospital), Tom Roberts (Emer- gency Medicine registrar, North Bristol NHS Trust), Katie Samuel (Consultant Anaesthetist, North Bristol NHS Trust), Helen Williams (HSRC Clinical Research Fellow in Anaesthetics), and Etimbuk Umana (Specialist Registrar Emergency Department, Midland Regional Hospital, Tullamore) as well as the Expert Advisory Group: Neil Greenberg (Health Protection Research Unit, King{\textquoteright}s College London and Royal College of Psychiatrists), Katherine Henderson (President of The Royal College of Emergency Medicine), Julie Highfield (British Psychological Society, Intensive Care Society), Ira Madan (Reader in Occupational Medicine), and Olivia Donnelly (Staff Wellbeing Psychology Ser- vice Lead, North Bristol NHS Trust). Thanks are also extended to the British Psychological Society for permitting adaptation of Figure 1 {\textcopyright} 2020 British Psychological Society; the original version is available online.",

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The COVID-19 Clinician Cohort (CoCCo) Study: Empirically Grounded Recommendations for Forward-Facing Psychological Care of Frontline Doctors

Abstract

Bibliographical note

Keywords

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