Analysis of a pertinent healthcare issue Health, Medicine Essay

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Introduction
National Healthcare Issue and Its Impact on the Organization
Some of the most pressing issues concerning healthcare nationally are the lesser quality of care and more low healthcare delivery efficiency during the COVID-19 pandemic. Additionally, the pandemic resulted in a stigma that resulted in psychological threats, physical violence and cyberattacks, and sometimes, obstruction of healthcare workers. Moreover, the pandemic has led to the lack of organization of many health organizations and institutions. These problems were further enhanced by the government's poor support and sometimes, the citizen (World Health Organization, 2020).
We will focus on the stigma against healthcare workers (HCWs) from these national healthcare issues. The growing stigma against those who incurred COVID-19 or those suspected of having the disease reinforced the social stigma against the HCWs because they are the primary contact with the sick. The social stigma resulted in violence and discrimination against anyone deemed to contract the virus, especially healthcare workers. Some of us experience being named a “contagious rat” or being spat on and assaulted at the public transports. Additionally, the children of the HCWs report being bullied by their classmates (i.e., calling names and vandalizing their belongings). The current social stigma prevents healthcare workers from communicating efficiently and adequately delivering healthcare services (World Health Organization, 2020).
Another less pressing issue today is the nursing shortage, which increases the workload of the retained employees. The issue is attributed to four major factors: 1) Inadequate applicants; 2) Higher demands; 3) Decrease in the length of stay of patients; and 4) Higher overtime (Carayon & Gurses, 2008). These factors negatively impact the Hospital Consumer Assessment of Healthcare Providers and Systems (HCAHPS) scores (Kutney-Lee et al., 2009).
As mentioned, the organization also experiences discrimination as a whole, thereby reducing the platforms and agencies that help the organization. Thus, an action from us was necessary. Our organization advocated against the social stigma by conducting webinars, creating infographics, and distributing information about the negative social stigma, and reducing the COVID-19 pandemic through social media platforms, such as Facebook. The organization is determined to reduce or explicitly abolish the social stigma to protect healthcare workers and their families and reinforce their ability to efficiently deliver a high quality of care.
Summary and Analysis of Articles
Ramaci et al. (2020) investigated the stigma against HCWs and its impact on them during the COVID-19 pandemic. They conducted a correlational study with 260 HCWs from a large hospital in southern Italy as participants. The researchers used questionnaires to determine the status of the participants. These include the Job Content Questionnaire (JCQ), Professional Quality of Life Scale (ProQOL), Rosenberg Self-Esteem Scale, and a multiple-choice questionnaire that assesses the stigma, fear, and acceptance attitudes toward the HCWs battling COVID-19. The first three evaluate the job's physical and psychological demands, quality of work relationships, and self-esteem, respectively. The results suggest that HCWs tend to have more deficient work capacity due to social stigma. Furthermore, the social stigma lessens the compliance and communication skills of the HCWs due to lower self-esteem and unsatisfactory social relationships (Ramaci et al., 2020).
Abdelhafiz & Alorabi (2020) discussed that social stigma is the hidden threat of pandemic. They explained how the E...