Coping strategies used by migrant healthcare workers to support their mental health during COVID-19 in the United Kingdom: a qualitative analysis

Joy O. Agbonmwandolor; Jonathan Chaloner; Mayuri Gogoi; Irtiza Qureshi; Amani Al-Oraibi; Winifred Ekezie; Holly Reilly; Fatimah Wobi; Laura B. Nellums; Manish Pareek

doi:10.1080/20008066.2024.2415747

Coping strategies used by migrant healthcare workers to support their mental health during COVID-19 in the United Kingdom: a qualitative analysis

Joy O. Agbonmwandolor
, Jonathan Chaloner
, Mayuri Gogoi
, Irtiza Qureshi
, Amani Al-Oraibi
, Winifred Ekezie
, Holly Reilly
, Fatimah Wobi
, Laura B. Nellums^*
, Manish Pareek^*

^*Corresponding author for this work

Department of Infection and HIV Medicine, University Hospitals of Leicester NHS Trust, Leicester, UK

Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › peer-review

1 Citation (Scopus)

13 Downloads (Pure)

Abstract

Background: The incidence of mental illness has risen since the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic. The number of healthcare workers (HCWs) needing mental health support has increased significantly. Objective: This secondary analysis of qualitative data explored the coping strategies of migrant HCWs living in the UK during the COVID-19 pandemic. Our aim was to identify the coping strategies used by migrant HCWs, and how they could be explored post-pandemic as support mechanisms of an increasingly diverse workforce. Method: As part of the United Kingdom Research study into Ethnicity And COVID-19 outcomes among Healthcare workers (UK-REACH), we conducted in-depth semi-structured interviews and focus groups with clinical and non-clinical HCWs across the UK, on Microsoft Teams, from December 2020 to July 2021. We conducted a thematic analysis using Braun and Clarke’s framework to explore the lived experiences of HCWs born overseas and living in the UK during the COVID-19 pandemic. The key themes that emerged were described using Lazarus and Folkman’s transactional model of stress and coping. Results: The emerging themes include stressors (situation triggering stress), appraisal (situation acknowledged as a source of stress), emotion-focused coping (family and social support and religious beliefs), problem-focused coping (engaging in self-care, seeking and receiving professional support), and coping strategy outcomes. The participants described the short-term benefit of the coping strategies as a shift in focus from COVID-19, which reduced their anxiety and stress levels. However, the long-term impact is unknown. Conclusion: We found that some migrant HCWs struggled with their mental health and used various coping strategies during the pandemic. With an increasingly diverse healthcare workforce, it will be beneficial to explore how coping strategies (family and social support networks, religion, self-care, and professional support) could be used in the future and how occupational policies and infrastructure can be adapted to support these communities.

Original language	English
Article number	2415747
Number of pages	12
Journal	European Journal of Psychotraumatology
Volume	15
Issue number	1
Early online date	30 Oct 2024
DOIs	https://doi.org/10.1080/20008066.2024.2415747
Publication status	Published - 31 Dec 2024

Bibliographical note

Copyright © 2024 The Author(s). Published by Informa UK Limited, trading as Taylor & Francis Group. This is an Open Access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial License (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/), which permits unrestricted non-commercial use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited. The terms on which this article has been published allow the posting of the Accepted Manuscript in a repository by the author(s) or with their consent.

Data Access Statement

The UK-REACH data supporting this research are available from the authors upon reasonable request.

Funding

MRC-UK Research and Innovation (UKRI) and the Department of Health and Social Care through the National Institute for Health Research (NIHR) rapid response panel to tackle COVID-19 supported UK-REACH with a grant [MR/V027549/1]. Core funding was provided by NIHR Biomedical Research Centres. M. P. is funded by an NIHR Development and Skills Enhancement Award and receives support from the NIHR Leicester BRC and NIHR ARC East Midlands. L. B. N. is supported by the Academy of Medical Sciences [SBF005/1047]. This work is carried out with the support of BREATHE – the Health Data Research Hub for Respiratory Health [MC_PC_19004]. funded through the UK Research and Innovation Industrial Strategy Challenge Fund and delivered through Health Data Research UK.

UN SDGs

This output contributes to the following UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs)

SDG 3 Good Health and Well-being

Keywords

migrant
salud mental
estrategias de afrontamiento
pandemia por la COVID-19
Healthcare workers
mental health
migrantes
Trabajadores de la salud
COVID-19 pandemic
coping strategies

Access to Document

10.1080/20008066.2024.2415747Licence: CC BY-NC 4.0

Coping strategies used by migrant healthcare workers to support their mental health during COVID-19_UK_Qualitative analysis
Copyright © 2024 The Author(s). Published by Informa UK Limited, trading as Taylor & Francis Group. This is an Open Access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial License (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/), which permits unrestricted non-commercial use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited. The terms on which this article has been published allow the posting of the Accepted Manuscript in a repository by the author(s) or with their consent.
Final published version, 701 KBLicence: CC BY-NC 4.0

Cite this

Agbonmwandolor, J. O., Chaloner, J., Gogoi, M., Qureshi, I., Al-Oraibi, A., Ekezie, W., Reilly, H., Wobi, F., Nellums, L. B., & Pareek, M. (2024). Coping strategies used by migrant healthcare workers to support their mental health during COVID-19 in the United Kingdom: a qualitative analysis. European Journal of Psychotraumatology, 15(1), Article 2415747. https://doi.org/10.1080/20008066.2024.2415747

@article{0e5a0c659ae94ae69f57765de471a897,

title = "Coping strategies used by migrant healthcare workers to support their mental health during COVID-19 in the United Kingdom: a qualitative analysis",

abstract = "Background: The incidence of mental illness has risen since the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic. The number of healthcare workers (HCWs) needing mental health support has increased significantly. Objective: This secondary analysis of qualitative data explored the coping strategies of migrant HCWs living in the UK during the COVID-19 pandemic. Our aim was to identify the coping strategies used by migrant HCWs, and how they could be explored post-pandemic as support mechanisms of an increasingly diverse workforce. Method: As part of the United Kingdom Research study into Ethnicity And COVID-19 outcomes among Healthcare workers (UK-REACH), we conducted in-depth semi-structured interviews and focus groups with clinical and non-clinical HCWs across the UK, on Microsoft Teams, from December 2020 to July 2021. We conducted a thematic analysis using Braun and Clarke{\textquoteright}s framework to explore the lived experiences of HCWs born overseas and living in the UK during the COVID-19 pandemic. The key themes that emerged were described using Lazarus and Folkman{\textquoteright}s transactional model of stress and coping. Results: The emerging themes include stressors (situation triggering stress), appraisal (situation acknowledged as a source of stress), emotion-focused coping (family and social support and religious beliefs), problem-focused coping (engaging in self-care, seeking and receiving professional support), and coping strategy outcomes. The participants described the short-term benefit of the coping strategies as a shift in focus from COVID-19, which reduced their anxiety and stress levels. However, the long-term impact is unknown. Conclusion: We found that some migrant HCWs struggled with their mental health and used various coping strategies during the pandemic. With an increasingly diverse healthcare workforce, it will be beneficial to explore how coping strategies (family and social support networks, religion, self-care, and professional support) could be used in the future and how occupational policies and infrastructure can be adapted to support these communities.",

keywords = "migrant, salud mental, estrategias de afrontamiento, pandemia por la COVID-19, Healthcare workers, mental health, migrantes, Trabajadores de la salud, COVID-19 pandemic, coping strategies",

author = "Agbonmwandolor, \{Joy O.\} and Jonathan Chaloner and Mayuri Gogoi and Irtiza Qureshi and Amani Al-Oraibi and Winifred Ekezie and Holly Reilly and Fatimah Wobi and Nellums, \{Laura B.\} and Manish Pareek",

note = "Copyright {\textcopyright} 2024 The Author(s). Published by Informa UK Limited, trading as Taylor \& Francis Group. This is an Open Access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial License (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/), which permits unrestricted non-commercial use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited. The terms on which this article has been published allow the posting of the Accepted Manuscript in a repository by the author(s) or with their consent.",

year = "2024",

month = dec,

day = "31",

doi = "10.1080/20008066.2024.2415747",

language = "English",

volume = "15",

journal = "European Journal of Psychotraumatology",

issn = "2000-8066",

publisher = "Taylor \& Francis",

number = "1",

}

Agbonmwandolor, JO, Chaloner, J, Gogoi, M, Qureshi, I, Al-Oraibi, A, Ekezie, W, Reilly, H, Wobi, F, Nellums, LB & Pareek, M 2024, 'Coping strategies used by migrant healthcare workers to support their mental health during COVID-19 in the United Kingdom: a qualitative analysis', European Journal of Psychotraumatology, vol. 15, no. 1, 2415747. https://doi.org/10.1080/20008066.2024.2415747

TY - JOUR

T1 - Coping strategies used by migrant healthcare workers to support their mental health during COVID-19 in the United Kingdom: a qualitative analysis

AU - Agbonmwandolor, Joy O.

AU - Chaloner, Jonathan

AU - Gogoi, Mayuri

AU - Qureshi, Irtiza

AU - Al-Oraibi, Amani

AU - Ekezie, Winifred

AU - Reilly, Holly

AU - Wobi, Fatimah

AU - Nellums, Laura B.

AU - Pareek, Manish

N1 - Copyright © 2024 The Author(s). Published by Informa UK Limited, trading as Taylor & Francis Group. This is an Open Access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial License (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/), which permits unrestricted non-commercial use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited. The terms on which this article has been published allow the posting of the Accepted Manuscript in a repository by the author(s) or with their consent.

PY - 2024/12/31

Y1 - 2024/12/31

N2 - Background: The incidence of mental illness has risen since the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic. The number of healthcare workers (HCWs) needing mental health support has increased significantly. Objective: This secondary analysis of qualitative data explored the coping strategies of migrant HCWs living in the UK during the COVID-19 pandemic. Our aim was to identify the coping strategies used by migrant HCWs, and how they could be explored post-pandemic as support mechanisms of an increasingly diverse workforce. Method: As part of the United Kingdom Research study into Ethnicity And COVID-19 outcomes among Healthcare workers (UK-REACH), we conducted in-depth semi-structured interviews and focus groups with clinical and non-clinical HCWs across the UK, on Microsoft Teams, from December 2020 to July 2021. We conducted a thematic analysis using Braun and Clarke’s framework to explore the lived experiences of HCWs born overseas and living in the UK during the COVID-19 pandemic. The key themes that emerged were described using Lazarus and Folkman’s transactional model of stress and coping. Results: The emerging themes include stressors (situation triggering stress), appraisal (situation acknowledged as a source of stress), emotion-focused coping (family and social support and religious beliefs), problem-focused coping (engaging in self-care, seeking and receiving professional support), and coping strategy outcomes. The participants described the short-term benefit of the coping strategies as a shift in focus from COVID-19, which reduced their anxiety and stress levels. However, the long-term impact is unknown. Conclusion: We found that some migrant HCWs struggled with their mental health and used various coping strategies during the pandemic. With an increasingly diverse healthcare workforce, it will be beneficial to explore how coping strategies (family and social support networks, religion, self-care, and professional support) could be used in the future and how occupational policies and infrastructure can be adapted to support these communities.

AB - Background: The incidence of mental illness has risen since the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic. The number of healthcare workers (HCWs) needing mental health support has increased significantly. Objective: This secondary analysis of qualitative data explored the coping strategies of migrant HCWs living in the UK during the COVID-19 pandemic. Our aim was to identify the coping strategies used by migrant HCWs, and how they could be explored post-pandemic as support mechanisms of an increasingly diverse workforce. Method: As part of the United Kingdom Research study into Ethnicity And COVID-19 outcomes among Healthcare workers (UK-REACH), we conducted in-depth semi-structured interviews and focus groups with clinical and non-clinical HCWs across the UK, on Microsoft Teams, from December 2020 to July 2021. We conducted a thematic analysis using Braun and Clarke’s framework to explore the lived experiences of HCWs born overseas and living in the UK during the COVID-19 pandemic. The key themes that emerged were described using Lazarus and Folkman’s transactional model of stress and coping. Results: The emerging themes include stressors (situation triggering stress), appraisal (situation acknowledged as a source of stress), emotion-focused coping (family and social support and religious beliefs), problem-focused coping (engaging in self-care, seeking and receiving professional support), and coping strategy outcomes. The participants described the short-term benefit of the coping strategies as a shift in focus from COVID-19, which reduced their anxiety and stress levels. However, the long-term impact is unknown. Conclusion: We found that some migrant HCWs struggled with their mental health and used various coping strategies during the pandemic. With an increasingly diverse healthcare workforce, it will be beneficial to explore how coping strategies (family and social support networks, religion, self-care, and professional support) could be used in the future and how occupational policies and infrastructure can be adapted to support these communities.

KW - migrant

KW - salud mental

KW - estrategias de afrontamiento

KW - pandemia por la COVID-19

KW - Healthcare workers

KW - mental health

KW - migrantes

KW - Trabajadores de la salud

KW - COVID-19 pandemic

KW - coping strategies

UR - https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/20008066.2024.2415747

UR - https://www.scopus.com/pages/publications/85208165633

U2 - 10.1080/20008066.2024.2415747

DO - 10.1080/20008066.2024.2415747

M3 - Article

SN - 2000-8066

VL - 15

JO - European Journal of Psychotraumatology

JF - European Journal of Psychotraumatology

IS - 1

M1 - 2415747

ER -

Coping strategies used by migrant healthcare workers to support their mental health during COVID-19 in the United Kingdom: a qualitative analysis

Abstract

Bibliographical note

Data Access Statement

Funding

UN SDGs

Keywords

Access to Document

Other files and links

Fingerprint

Cite this