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Brooks SK, Patel D, Greenberg N. "Exceptionally challenging time for all of us": Qualitative study of the COVID-19 experiences of partners of diplomatic personnel. PLoS One 2023; 18:e0293557. [PMID: 37917599 PMCID: PMC10621840 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0293557] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/09/2023] [Accepted: 10/15/2023] [Indexed: 11/04/2023] Open
Abstract
BACKGROUND Although the romantic partners of diplomatic personnel frequently accompany their spouses to overseas postings and face the challenges of having to adjust to new cultures and separation from friends and family, they have rarely been the focus of academic research. This study explores the lived experiences of the partners/spouses of diplomatic personnel from the United Kingdom's Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office (FCDO) during the COVID-19 pandemic. METHODS Partners of FCDO staff took part in semi-structured interviews about how COVID-19 had affected their lives and their perceptions of the organisation's response to the pandemic. Thematic analysis was used to analyse the data. RESULTS Eleven partners of FCDO staff took part, who between them had lived in 14 different countries during the pandemic. The analysis identified six key themes: deployment-specific challenges such as travel restrictions, quarantine and evacuation; children; impacts of the pandemic including financial and psychological; perceptions of the organisational response to COVID-19; support and help-seeking; and suggestions for the future. Overall participants reported experiencing a number of challenges, many of which left them feeling powerless and not in control of their own lives. Participants frequently described a lack of clarity around policies and support. Social support appeared to be valuable, but many participants wanted more support from the organisation and from informal networks. CONCLUSIONS Diplomatic (and similar) organisations could enhance the wellbeing of the partners of their staff through improved communication and support. Keeping families informed about restrictions, requirements, policies and available help during a crisis, and reaching out to them to offer advice and support, would likely be beneficial. It is important that lessons are learned from the COVID-19 crisis in order for organisations to be able to support their employees and families if another prolonged crisis were to occur.
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Affiliation(s)
- Samantha K. Brooks
- Department of Psychological Medicine, King’s College London, London, United Kingdom
| | - Dipti Patel
- Overseas Health and Welfare, Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office, London, United Kingdom
| | - Neil Greenberg
- Department of Psychological Medicine, King’s College London, London, United Kingdom
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Dong Q, Yang Y, Ma M, Ou W, Lv G, Huang M, Li Y, Lu Y, Fan A, Ju Y, Zhang Y. Posttraumatic stress symptoms in healthcare workers during the COVID-19 pandemic: A four-wave longitudinal study. Psychiatry Res 2023; 327:115406. [PMID: 37591109 DOI: 10.1016/j.psychres.2023.115406] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/29/2023] [Revised: 07/30/2023] [Accepted: 08/05/2023] [Indexed: 08/19/2023]
Abstract
BACKGROUND Posttraumatic stress symptoms of healthcare workers have become a significant public concern in the healthcare system that have long COVID-19. It is less known how the pandemic impacts the HCWs' PTSS longitudinally and long-term risk factors for it. METHODS Four consecutive surveys were conducted among healthcare workers in China from 2019 to 2023 COVID-19 outbreaks. Multilevel mixed-effect models were used to examine longitudinal changes and risk factors. Network analysis was utilized to explore network centrality changes in PTSS symptoms. RESULTS HCWs' PTSS symptoms were increased over time during the COVID-19 pandemic. Being female, being nurse, working in the emergency department, working longer hours, less frequently going back home and having COVID-19 infection are risk factors of PTSS for HCWs; unmarried is the protective factor. Significant interaction between symptom changes and profession exists. PTSS networks showed that Avoidance of thoughts, Emotional-cue activity, Exaggerated startle response and Hypervigilance were the central symptoms during four waves. The global strength of the PTSS network grows over time, and nodal strength of Avoidance of thoughts, Loss of interest and Negative beliefs increased by COVID-19. CONCLUSION The pandemic's impacts on healthcare workers vary by professions. PTSS symptoms exacerbate, reinforce each other, and persists with recurring waves.
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Affiliation(s)
- Qiangli Dong
- Department of Psychiatry, Lanzhou University Second Hospital, Lanzhou, China
| | - Yumeng Yang
- Department of Psychiatry, National Clinical Research Center for Mental Disorders, and National Center for Mental Disorders, The Second Xiangya Hospital of Central South University, Changsha, Hunan 410011, China; China National Technology Institute on Mental Disorders, Hunan Technology Institute of Psychiatry, Hunan Key Laboratory of Psychiatry and Mental Health, Mental Health Institute of Central South University, Changsha, Hunan, China
| | - Mohan Ma
- Department of Psychiatry, National Clinical Research Center for Mental Disorders, and National Center for Mental Disorders, The Second Xiangya Hospital of Central South University, Changsha, Hunan 410011, China; China National Technology Institute on Mental Disorders, Hunan Technology Institute of Psychiatry, Hunan Key Laboratory of Psychiatry and Mental Health, Mental Health Institute of Central South University, Changsha, Hunan, China
| | - Wenwen Ou
- Department of Psychiatry, National Clinical Research Center for Mental Disorders, and National Center for Mental Disorders, The Second Xiangya Hospital of Central South University, Changsha, Hunan 410011, China; China National Technology Institute on Mental Disorders, Hunan Technology Institute of Psychiatry, Hunan Key Laboratory of Psychiatry and Mental Health, Mental Health Institute of Central South University, Changsha, Hunan, China
| | - Guanyi Lv
- Department of Psychiatry, National Clinical Research Center for Mental Disorders, and National Center for Mental Disorders, The Second Xiangya Hospital of Central South University, Changsha, Hunan 410011, China; China National Technology Institute on Mental Disorders, Hunan Technology Institute of Psychiatry, Hunan Key Laboratory of Psychiatry and Mental Health, Mental Health Institute of Central South University, Changsha, Hunan, China
| | - Mei Huang
- Department of Psychiatry, National Clinical Research Center for Mental Disorders, and National Center for Mental Disorders, The Second Xiangya Hospital of Central South University, Changsha, Hunan 410011, China; China National Technology Institute on Mental Disorders, Hunan Technology Institute of Psychiatry, Hunan Key Laboratory of Psychiatry and Mental Health, Mental Health Institute of Central South University, Changsha, Hunan, China
| | - Yunjing Li
- Department of Psychiatry, National Clinical Research Center for Mental Disorders, and National Center for Mental Disorders, The Second Xiangya Hospital of Central South University, Changsha, Hunan 410011, China; China National Technology Institute on Mental Disorders, Hunan Technology Institute of Psychiatry, Hunan Key Laboratory of Psychiatry and Mental Health, Mental Health Institute of Central South University, Changsha, Hunan, China
| | - Yimei Lu
- Department of Psychiatry, National Clinical Research Center for Mental Disorders, and National Center for Mental Disorders, The Second Xiangya Hospital of Central South University, Changsha, Hunan 410011, China; China National Technology Institute on Mental Disorders, Hunan Technology Institute of Psychiatry, Hunan Key Laboratory of Psychiatry and Mental Health, Mental Health Institute of Central South University, Changsha, Hunan, China
| | - Ajiao Fan
- Department of Psychiatry, Lanzhou University Second Hospital, Lanzhou, China
| | - Yumeng Ju
- Department of Psychiatry, National Clinical Research Center for Mental Disorders, and National Center for Mental Disorders, The Second Xiangya Hospital of Central South University, Changsha, Hunan 410011, China; China National Technology Institute on Mental Disorders, Hunan Technology Institute of Psychiatry, Hunan Key Laboratory of Psychiatry and Mental Health, Mental Health Institute of Central South University, Changsha, Hunan, China.
| | - Yan Zhang
- Department of Psychiatry, National Clinical Research Center for Mental Disorders, and National Center for Mental Disorders, The Second Xiangya Hospital of Central South University, Changsha, Hunan 410011, China; China National Technology Institute on Mental Disorders, Hunan Technology Institute of Psychiatry, Hunan Key Laboratory of Psychiatry and Mental Health, Mental Health Institute of Central South University, Changsha, Hunan, China.
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McElroy EE, Perry SL, Grubbs JB. Mating in Captivity: The Influence of Social Location on Sexual Satisfaction through Phases of the COVID-19 Pandemic. SOCIUS : SOCIOLOGICAL RESEARCH FOR A DYNAMIC WORLD 2023; 9:23780231231173899. [PMID: 37305075 PMCID: PMC10247694 DOI: 10.1177/23780231231173899] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 06/13/2023]
Abstract
The recent global pandemic provides a natural experiment "intervention" to examine how differing baseline social dynamics such as gender, education, and politics shaped diverging patterns of well-being during rapidly shifting societal conditions. Using married adults from a nationally representative panel study in the United States from August 2019 to August 2021, discontinuous growth curves reveal a large drop in average married sexual satisfaction in both quality and frequency directly following the pandemic onset. Moreover, sexual satisfaction remained largely suppressed for the subsequent 18 months, apart from a brief "optimism blip" in the fall of 2020. Race, age, income, employment, parenthood, education, and political affiliation all appear as meaningful predictors, but these differ across various phases of the pandemic and by gender. These results reveal evidence of lingering changes in subjective sexual well-being as well as patterns of catastrophe risk and resilience moderated by social location factors.
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