Sources and symptoms of stress among nurses in the first Chinese anti-Ebola medical team during the Sierra Leone aid mission: A qualitative study

Liu, Chunzi; Wang, Huaming; Zhou, Lin; Xie, Hui; Yang, Huiyin; Yu, Yanbo; Sha, Huayan; Yang, Ying; Zhang, Xin

On September 16, 2014, a Military Infectious Disease Hospital dispatched the first anti-Ebola medical team to Sierra Leone. Composed of physicians, nurses, staff on infection control, and staff providing general services, this team was the first Chinese delegation to West Africa and the mission lasted two months in Freetown. In the early stage (September 17e30), they completed material preparations and remodeled the originally comprehensive China-SL Friendship Hospital into an admission and observation center for severe infectious disease. The staff from SL underwent training, while workflows and protocols were created. In the middle stage (October 1e31), the team practiced and optimized the workflows and protocols, then admitted and treated patients with diagnosed or suspected EVD. In the final stage (November 1e15), patient admission and observation continued while the team prepared for homecoming and work turnover to the next Chinese team. On November 16, the first team returned to China and underwent 21 days of quarantine. This first team achieved the goal of zero infection among the medical staff from both China and Sierra Leone. Moreover, the admitted patients did not develop hospitalacquired infections, which established a satisfactory administrative and organizational basis for subsequent medical teams. However, the anti-Ebola medical nurses suffered deeply from stress. The present study aimed to understand the main stress sources, symptoms, and relievers for nurses of the first anti-Ebola medical team during their mission in Sierra Leone and their quarantine period back home. The findings can provide basis for future stress relief and counseling programs for the anti-Ebola medical team. Similarly, the study can provide basis for the organization, administration, and training of medical agencies.