Perceptions of postoutbreak management by management and healthcare workers of a Middle East respiratory syndrome outbreak in a tertiary care hospital: a qualitative study

Al Knawy, Bandar Abdulmohsen; Al-Kadri, Hanan M F; Elbarbary, Mahmoud; Arabi, Yaseen; Balkhy, Hanan H; Clark, Alex

All participants reported that the MERS-CoV outbreak was seen to constitute an episode of the most pressing and serious clinical significance to the organization and country. Consistently across interviews, it was described in such terms as a "serious and straining situation" and a "situation that carries national and international significance". 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 31 32 33 34 35 36 37 38 39 40 41 42 43 44 45 46 47 48 49 50 51 52 53 54 55 56 57 58 59 60 F o r p e e r r e v i e w o n l y 10 Frontline HCWs and senior decision-makers alike not only perceived this high gravity, but also experienced extremely high and diverse demands personally ("A very demanding situation"). Throughout the interviews, participants described the outbreak as being a sustained period of severe and sustained "tension", "doubts", "challenges", "fear", and "anger". Frequent visits, communications and collaborations from external regulatory agencies (such as the Saudi Ministry of Health, the U.S. Center for Disease Control and Prevention "CDC" and the World Health Organization "WHO"), were perceived to be useful but also compounded these stresses.