Imperial College London
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Dr Austen El-Osta

Faculty of Medicine, School of Public Health

Primary Care Research Manager
 
 
 
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Contact

 

+44 (0)20 7594 7604a.el-osta Website

 
 
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Location

 

323Reynolds BuildingCharing Cross Campus

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Summary

 

Publications

Citation

BibTex format

@article{Smith:2023:10.1371/journal.pone.0289067,
author = {Smith, P and Alaa, A and Roboli, Sasco E and Bagkeris, E and El-Osta, A},
doi = {10.1371/journal.pone.0289067},
journal = {PLoS One},
pages = {1--22},
title = {How has COVID-19 changed health and social care professionals' attitudes to self-care? A mixed methods research study},
url = {http://dx.doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0289067},
volume = {18},
year = {2023}
}
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RIS format (EndNote, RefMan)

TY  - JOUR
AB  - BackgroundThe COVID-19 pandemic fundamentally changed the way services are delivered. Self-care, including good hygiene practices and avoidance of risk was emphasised as the key measure to tackle the pandemic in the early stages.ObjectiveTo understand how self-reported professional attitudes, perceptions and practices of self-care have changed as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic.DesignCross-sectional online survey and semi-structured qualitative interview.SettingHealth care.Participants304 healthcare professionals (HCPs).MethodsA wide range of HCPs, including pharmacists, nurses, doctors, social prescribers and other designations took part in a 27-item anonymous online survey. Semi-structured qualitative interviews with nine healthcare professionals explored attitudes to and practices of self-care before and during the pandemic. Views were sought on the permanence and implications of changes. Data were analysed using routine statistics and thematic analysis to identify major themes.ResultsA total of 304 HCPs responded to the survey fully. Nine participated in a semi-structured interview. There was agreement that the importance of self-care has increased markedly during the pandemic. The percentage of respondents who felt that self-care was ’very’ important to their clients increased from 54.3% to 86.6% since the pandemic. Personal empowerment and capacity of service users to self-care increased significantly during the pandemic. Willingness of patients to engage (74%) and poor understanding of self-care (71%) were cited as the two main barriers to self-care. A close third was digital exclusion (71%), though 86% of respondents recommended online resources and 77% the use of smartphone apps. Survey respondents believed the changes to be permanent and positive. Interviewees reported a major, and positive move to self-care with the pandemic seen as an opportunity to be grasped, but professional education would have to be aligned to make the most of it. They
AU  - Smith,P
AU  - Alaa,A
AU  - Roboli,Sasco E
AU  - Bagkeris,E
AU  - El-Osta,A
DO  - 10.1371/journal.pone.0289067
EP  - 22
PY  - 2023///
SN  - 1932-6203
SP  - 1
TI  - How has COVID-19 changed health and social care professionals' attitudes to self-care? A mixed methods research study
T2  - PLoS One
UR  - http://dx.doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0289067
UR  - https://journals.plos.org/plosone/article?id=10.1371/journal.pone.0289067
UR  - http://hdl.handle.net/10044/1/102779
VL  - 18
ER  -
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