A new study out of the University of Manitoba seeks to explore the psychological effects felt by frontline healthcare providers caring for dying patients during the COVID-19 pandemic.
If you, or someone you know, has lived relevant lived experience and wish to contribute to this important research, we encourage you to get more information on the study.
Language from the researcher team
We are currently being faced with new and daunting challenges as the COVID-19 pandemic continues to spread. The full impact of the pandemic is still quite uncertain. Any attempt to deal with the COVID-19 pandemic is incomplete without consideration of its impact on dignity and the lived experience of patients, families and healthcare providers.
Providing care to dying patients within healthcare institutions during the COVID-19 pandemic has changed significantly. Many healthcare providers around the world are encountering multiple concurrent deaths and an overloaded healthcare system. Because of the possibility of contagion, they are enforcing Personal Protective Equipment, restricted visitation, and trying to balance their duty to care, with their responsibility to keep themselves and their own families safe.
This study aims to prospectively explore the subsequent psychological morbidity amongst frontline healthcare providers caring for dying patients during the COVID-19 pandemic. To date, there is very limited research on the experience of healthcare providers caring for dying patients during the pandemic.