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Reconfiguring the social organization of work in the intensive care unit: Changed relationships and new roles during COVID-19

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  • Rodriquez, Jason

Abstract

The COVID-19 pandemic caused hospitals to make changes to workflow that exacerbated emotional exhaustion and burnout among health care workers. This article examines one of those changes, restricted visitation, showing how it changed the social organization of work by upending established interactional patterns and relationships between health care workers, patients, and patients' families. Based on 40 interviews with intensive care unit (ICU) workers in units that were full of COVID-19 patients and had fully restricted visitation, study findings show that staff took on emotional support roles with patients that had typically been done by families at the bedside. They also faced increased anger, distrust, and misunderstandings from families who were not allowed to see their dying loved one. With each other, staff bonded together with dark humor and candid talk about the scale of deaths, constructing a shared understanding and solidarity amidst the tragedy of the pandemic.

Suggested Citation

  • Rodriquez, Jason, 2023. "Reconfiguring the social organization of work in the intensive care unit: Changed relationships and new roles during COVID-19," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 317(C).
    • Handle: RePEc:eee:socmed:v:317:y:2023:i:c:s0277953622009066
    DOI: 10.1016/j.socscimed.2022.115600
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    1. Natasha Smallwood & Amy Pascoe & Leila Karimi & Karen Willis, 2021. "Moral Distress and Perceived Community Views Are Associated with Mental Health Symptoms in Frontline Health Workers during the COVID-19 Pandemic," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 18(16), pages 1-15, August.
    2. Vinson, Alexandra H. & Underman, Kelly, 2020. "Clinical empathy as emotional labor in medical work," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 251(C).
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