Abstract

RAMOS-GIL, Elena; ROMAN-FRIAS, Ana; GARCIA-CAMPOS, Alfonso  and  SANCHEZ-GOMEZ, Sheila. Impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on Primary Care professionals and proposals for betterment. Comunidad [online]. 2023, vol.25, n.2, pp.29-35.  Epub Dec 25, 2023. ISSN 2339-7896.  https://dx.doi.org/10.55783/comunidad.250202.

The COVID-19 pandemic has entailed a sudden change in the usual approach to health promotion, prevention, treatment and rehabilitation of diseases. Primary care has undergone a significant impact due to the pandemic situation and its professionals have played an essential role. At the same time both their professional and personal lives have undergone major changes.

The aim of the study was to know and understand the impact of the pandemic on the personal and professional spheres of primary care, as well as analyze and present proposals at the organizational and attention level.

A qualitative study was performed by means of four interdisciplinary focus groups in which 26 primary care professionals took part (administrative assistants, nursing assistants, nurses and doctors).

To perform the analysis, inductive content analysis methodology was used by means of the method of constant comparisons of Glaser and Strauss and Atlas TI computer software.

The four focus groups were transcribed, and the citations analyzed were grouped into thirteen categories. They were included in five meta-categories: impact of the pandemic on professionals, changes in family and community care, impact of the pandemic on the population, teamwork and proposals for betterment.

Conclusions drawn were the fear felt by professionals at the initial stage of the pandemic, which turned into frustration, tiredness and sadness in later phases, the break with traditional primary care, as well as various proposals for improvement (patient empowerment, enhancement of multi-disciplinary teams, etc.)

Keywords : Interdisciplinary Research; Pandemic; Primary Healthcare; Qualitative Research.

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