The psychological resilience and perceived stress of the frontline heroes in the pandemic in Turkey: A descriptive study of the COVID‐19 outbreak‐mutations‐normalization triad

Boran, Maruf; Boran, Omer Faruk; Korukcu, Oznur; Özkaya, Meltem

AIM: To determine the psychological resilience and perceived stress levels of healthcare workers in COVID‐19 intensive care units. METHODS: The study was conducted with 418 physicians and nurses in Turkey between July and August 2020. The data were collected with an online survey consisting of a personal information form, the Brief Resilience Scale, and the Perceived Stress Scale. RESULTS: The study sample comprised 32.5% physicians and 67.5% nurses. Fear of transmission of COVID‐19 from the patients in their care was stated by 92.6% of the physicians and 95.7% of the nurses. Almost all of the participants (99.3%) were afraid of transmitting COVID‐19 to their families. The psychological resilience level of the physicians (18.42 ± 2.25) participating in the study was higher than that of the nurses (17.88 ± 2.00), and the perceived stress level was lower. It was determined that most physicians and nurses strengthened their team/work friendship bonds during the pandemic, but the motivation to work decreased. CONCLUSION: The study results suggest that frontline intensive care workers should be closely monitored as a high‐risk group for psychological problems. The provision of better personal protective equipment, together with on‐going monitoring and provision of psychological support, and strong family support will increase the resilience of frontline healthcare workers.