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

This research documented learning from an unusual, burdensome and serious infection outbreak and used methods recognized to be well suited to Unlike this previous work, the rigor of this study was increased via comprehensive details of the sample, participants, and context. 32 As with other studies, 32 participants included in the study were very well placed to provide insights into the outbreak but inevitably then the research was also conducted retrospectively, was based on subjective data, and involved a select group of participants whose perspectives may differ from the broader population. As with other studies, 32 while independent researchers undertook the interviews, responses may have been influenced by perceived "official" links between the project and the organization. Staff perspectives may have also been influenced by the time duration since the outbreak was curtailed (around eight months). We addressed these limitations through different data collection sources, member checking and data triangulation.