Trying to Control the Situation: A Theory of Iranian Midwives’ Experiences of the Coping Process with their Professional Roles Following COVID 19

Nahid Jahani Shoorab, Kobra Mirzakhani, Maryam Aradmehr, Morvarid Irani

Abstract


Background: Midwives are at the frontlines of the fight against the Coronavirus Disease (COVID‑19) pandemic. Working under these circumstances threatens their lives and that of their family members; midwives’ adjustment to work increases their efficiency in providing care services to pregnant mothers, but midwives’ coping process is ambiguous and complex. Thus, the aim of this study was to explore the coping process of midwives with their professional roles following COVID‑19.

Materials and Methods: This study was conducted using grounded theory during 2020 to 2021. For this purpose, 30 midwives were purposively and theoretically selected from two educational hospitals and health centers in Mashhad and Torbat Heydarieh cities, Iran. The data were collected using in‑depth semi‑structured interviews. The collected data were analyzed using the Strauss and Corbin method (2008) in MAXQDA software.

Results: The main concern of the participants was “perception of the threats to their health” and the core category revealed from the data was “trying to control the situation.” Midwives coped with the COVID‑19 pandemic in four steps, namely early initial confrontation, reaction to the COVID‑19 pandemic, management of challenges, and reconstructing. Support from family and the health system and religious belief were the interventional conditions in this theory.

Conclusions: Results of this study can be used to provide health managers with a better understanding of the conditions affecting the coping strategies of midwives with their professional roles during COVID‑19. Therefore, this study provides the required data for developing an effective intervention to help nurse midwives to cope with this issue.


Keywords


COVID 19, grounded theory, nurse midwives, Professional role

Full Text:

PDF

References


Yang H, Wang C, Poon LC.Novel coronavirus infection and pregnancy. Ultrasound Obstet Gynecol 2020;55:435 7.

WHO Announces COVID 19 Outbreak a Pandemic. World Health Organization, Geneva, Switzerland, 2020. Available from: https://www.euro.who.int/en/health topics/ health emergencies/coronavirus covid 19/news/news/2020/3/ who announces covid 19 outbreak a pandemic.[Last accessed on 2022 Jan 24].

Bradfield Z, Hauck Y, Homer CS, Sweet L, Wilson AN, Szabo RA, et al. Midwives’ experiences of providing maternity care during the COVID 19 pandemic in Australia. Women Birth 2021;S1871 5192 (21) 00042 1. doi: 10.1016/j.wombi. 2021.02.007.

Sarvestani KA, Ahmadi A, Enayat H, Movahed M. Level and factors related to unintended pregnancy with a brief review of new population policies in Iran. Iran J Public Health 2017;46:973 81.

Bolan N, Cowgill KD, Walker K, Kak L, Shaver T, Moxon S, et al.Human resources for health related challenges to ensuring quality newborn care in low and middle income countries: A scoping review. Glob Health Sci Pract 2021;9:160 76.

Izhar R, Husain S, Tahir MA, Husain S. Knowledge and practices: Risk perceptions of COVID 19 and satisfaction with preventive measures at workplace among maternity care providers in Pakistan. Eur J Midwifery 2021;5:3.

Goberna Tricas J, Biurrun Garrido A, Perelló Iñiguez C, Rodríguez Garrido P. The COVID 19 pandemic in Spain: Experiences of midwives on the healthcare frontline. Int J Environ Res Public Health 2021;18:6516.

Liu Q, Luo D, Haase JE, Guo Q, Wang XQ, Liu S, et al. The experiences of health care providers during the COVID 19 crisis in China: A qualitative study. Lancet Glob Health 2020;8:e790 98.

Doeringer PB, Piore MJ. Internal Labor Markets and Manpower Analysis: With a New Introduction. Taylor & Francis Group: Routledge; 2020.

Shahrabi Farahani L. Exploring the concepts and factors of Dawis & Lofquist job adjustment theory and making a questionnaire between women teachers of Tehran area 15 at 1389 1390 year. Qtly J Career Org Couns 2012;4:162 80.

Azarpira G, Yaghobi A, Forghani M, Soleimani G. The relationship between role clarity and job compatibility in the sport and physical education office. Int J Sports Sci 2013;3:194 8.

Karami Z, Alavi M, Amini Rarani M, Hadian M, Momeni T. A study on the adaptation of newly female arrived nurses to hospital environment: A qualitative study.J Urmia Nurs Midwifery Fac2018;16:248 62.

Aksoy YE, Koçak V. Psychological effects of nurses and midwives due to COVID 19 outbreak: The case of Turkey. Arch Psychiatr Nurs 2020;34:427 33.

González Timoneda A, Hernández VH, Moya SP, Blazquez RA. Experiences and attitudes of midwives during the birth of a pregnant woman with COVID 19 infection: A qualitative study. Women Birth 2021;34:465 72.

Sampaio F, Sequeira C, Teixeira L. Impact of COVID 19 outbreak on nurses’ mental health: A prospective cohort study. Environ Res 2021;194:110620.

Na Nan K, Pukkeeree P. Influence of job characteristics and job satisfaction effect work adjustment for entering labor market of new graduates in Thailand. Int J Bus Soc Sci 2013;4:94-103.

Corbin J, Strauss A. Strategies for qualitative data analysis. Basics of Qualitative Research. Techniques and Procedures for Developing Grounded Theory. Sage Publications, California. Inc; 2008. p. 3.

Guba EG, Lincoln YS. Competing paradigms in qualitative research. In: Denzin NK, Lincoln YS, editors. Handbook of Qualitative Research. Sage Publications, Inc; 1994. p. 105 17.

Welsh M, Chimowitz H, Nanavati JD, Huff NR, Isbell LM. A qualitative investigation of the impact of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) on emergency physicians’ emotional experiences and coping strategies. J Am Coll Emerg Physicians Open 2021;2:e12578.

Akbar RE, Elahi N, Mohammadi E, Khoshknab MF. How do the nurses cope with job stress? A study with grounded theory approach. J Caring Sci 2017;6:199 211.

Dictionary MW. Merriam webster dictionary and thesaurus. 2016. Availablefrom: www.merriam webster.com.

Ali H, Astin Cole AA, Sa’d Hamasha GP. Major stressors and coping strategies of frontline nursing staff during the outbreak of coronavirus disease 2020 (COVID 19) in Alabama. J Multidiscip Healthc 2020;13:2057 68.

Del Boca D, Oggero N, Profeta P, Rossi M. Women’s and men’s work, housework and childcare, before and during COVID 19. Rev Econ Household 2020;18:1001 17.

Jeon M, Dimitriou D, Halstead EJ. A systematic review on cross cultural comparative studies of sleep in young populations: The roles of cultural factors. Int J Environ Res Public Health 2021;18:2005.

Cai H, Tu B, Ma J, Chen L, Fu L, Jiang Y, et al.Psychological impact and coping strategies of frontline medical staff in Hunan between January and March 2020 during the outbreak of Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID 19) in Hubei, China. Med Sci Monit 2020;26:e924171.

Faryabi R, Mirzayi R, Salari E, Javadi A. Investigating the effect of education based on Lazarus and Folkman’s transactional stress model on coping skills of Jieroft University of medical sciences health care workers. J Jiroft Univ Med Sci 2016;3:120 9.


Refbacks

  • There are currently no refbacks.