Apparently We Cannot Live, We are like Infectious Zombies: A Qualitative Research on Personal and Familial Experiences of Health Workers in the Filiation Teams in Turkey during the COVID-19 Pandemic

• Published in: Social work in public health Vol. 37; no. 7; pp. 692 - 701
• Main Authors: Karataş, Mustafa, Pak Güre, Merve Deniz, Duyan, Veli
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: United States Routledge 03-10-2022; Taylor & Francis Ltd
• Subjects: Child care; COVID-19; Families & family life; family process; Health; health workers; Matrices; Probability; Qualitative research; Stigma; Support services; Teams; the filiation teams; Workers; Working conditions; COVID-19; family process; the filiation teams; health workers
• ISSN: 1937-1918; 1937-190X
• DOI: 10.1080/19371918.2022.2084196

This study aims to examine the experiences of health workers in filiation teams in Turkey. The qualitative research model has been used. 375 health workers have participated using a non-probability sampling method. The data were collected over the internet using the questionnaire. The data have been analyzed with the MAXQDA and various code-sub codes-segment maps and code matrices have been used. The results expressed in two dimensions: instrumental and emotional areas. It has been observed that issues such as burnout, loss of motivation, and future anxiety have often been coded due to poor working conditions of the filiation teams, lack of rewards, and other factors. They have been determined as experiencing social stigma along with fear of infecting their families, and therefore have problems with child care, visiting adult family members in the risk group. It is recommended to develop psychosocial support services and improve organizational conditions.