LETTER TO THE EDITOR
REVISTA DE LA FACULTAD DE MEDICINA HUMANA 2023 - Universidad Ricardo Palma10.25176/RFMH.v23i4.6203
RESPONSE FROM THE AUTHORS TO THE EDITOR'S LETTER “JOB SATISFACTION IN CRISIS: THE IMPACT OF COVID-19 ON HEALTH PERSONNEL”
RESPUESTA DE LOS AUTORES LA CARTA EL EDITOR “SATISFACCIÓN LABORAL EN CRISIS: EL IMPACTO DEL COVID-19 EN EL PERSONAL DE SALUD”
Melina Liliana Chávez Patilongo
1,a
Maritza Dorila Placencia Medina
2,b
María Elena Muñoz Zambrano
2,3,c,d
Margot Quintana Salinas
2,4
Amelia Olortegui Moncada
2,5,c,e
1 Hospital Vitarte. Lima Perú.
2 Universidad Nacional Mayor de San Marcos. Lima Perú.
3 Instituto Nacional de Salud. Lima Perú.
4 Instituto Centro de Investigación de Bioquímica y Nutrición, Lima, Perú.
5 Hospital Central Fuerza Aérea. Lima Perú.
a Lic. Nurse. Master of Health Services Management.
b Pharmaceutical chemist. Dr. in Pharmacy and Biochemistry
c Medical Technologist.
d Clinical Laboratory and Pathological Anatomy. Ph.D. Health and Development in the tropics
e Occupational therapist, Master in Gerontology
Dear Editor and authors of the letter:
We have reviewed with great interest the comments in the letter to the editor that accompanies the original article entitled "Climate and Pre-Pandemic Job Satisfaction of Nursing Personnel in an Emergency Service," published in Volume 23, number 02 of 2023 by Chávez M et al., where a significant correlation is highlighted between the work environment and the job satisfaction of the nursing team at the Vitarte Hospital (1).
The World Health Organization (WHO) reports that job performance in the health sector has decreased by an average of 47% during the COVID-19 pandemic, with a more pronounced impact in developing countries, particularly in the Americas. Latin, where the drop reaches 70% on average and up to 85% in nations such as Brazil, Peru, Chile and Colombia (2). This context of high demand and stress during the pandemic has significantly impacted nursing staff.
In addition to the factors mentioned in the previous letter, previous research offers relevant information, such as; Mo et al. (2020) found that an excessive workload is related to higher stress and anxiety levels in nurses, recommending psychological support as a relief measure (3). Likewise, Ferreira et al. (2020) identified that nurses faced difficulties in health education, misinformation among the population and obstacles in making differential diagnoses, experiencing emotional fears and stress due to the pandemic (4).
Jawed et al. (2020), evaluated the knowledge, attitude, practice and stress perceived by health personnel, finding moderate levels of stress related to concerns about the health of their families and the lack of protective equipment (5). Similarly, Vagni et al. (2020), identified stressors that caused secondary trauma in healthcare workers, highlighting higher levels of physical and emotional stress among nurses working directly with COVID-19 patients (6).
Morales (2020) found an inverse relationship between stress and motivation in health personnel during the pandemic, with high-stress levels associated with lower motivation (7). Facts that undoubtedly allow us to reflect and learn to be prepared psychologically and with biosafety equipment to better face a new pandemic.
Several studies have investigated the relationship between stress and job performance in nurses at the national level. Among them, Delgado et al. (2020) found a negative and moderate correlation between work stress and work performance in health personnel in a care network (8).
Machacuay et al. (2020), revealed a moderate relationship between stress and job performance in nurses, highlighting a high level of stress and a low level of performance (9). Alcalá et al. (2021), reported that during the COVID-19 pandemic, workload and stress indirectly affected the work performance of nursing staff (10).
Aranda et al. (2021) identified stressful situations for nurses, including a lack of staff and inappropriate working conditions, with a significant relationship between stress and coping strategies (11), Del Rosario et al. (2021), found that nurses faced challenges during the pandemic, which resulted in stress and affected their work performance in various dimensions (12). Obregón et al. (2021), indicated that work stress related to the pandemic had a negative impact on the mental and physical health of nursing staff, but a low to moderate level of stress and good work performance, in general, was found (13), as well as like Ortega (2021), who reported that nursing staff faced stress due to unknown illness, long shifts, and fear of contagion, with a significant and moderate relationship between stress and job performance (14), finally we have Zamora (2022), who found a strong and negative relationship between stress and job performance in nurses working in critical areas (15).
In summary, these national and international studies consistently suggest a relationship between stress and job performance in nursing personnel. Research has been carried out on the relationship between stress and work performance in the nursing staff of the Vitarte Hospital during the COVID-19 Pre-pandemic, which seeks to contribute to the existing knowledge base and serve as a relevant background for future studies in this matter.
Agradecemos la atención a esta carta y la consideración para su posible publicación en la revista.
Authorship contributions:
MLCP and MDPM have participated in the conception of the article, data collection, writing and approval of the final version. MEMZ performed the data analysis and final review of the manuscript, and AOM and MQS performed the discussion of the article as well as the final review of the manuscript.
Financing:
Self-financed
Declaration of conflict of interest:
None declared.
Recevied:
October 1, 2023
Approved:
November 29, 2023
Correspondence author:
María Elena Muñoz Zambrano
Address:
Calle Micaela Bastidas 115, Urb. Santa Patricia. La Molina. Lima.
Phone:
945455887
E-mail:
mmunozz1@unmsm.edu.pe
Artículo publicado por la Revista de la Facultad de Medicina Humana de la Universidad Ricardo Palma. Es un articulo de acceso abierto, distribuido bajo los términos de la Licencia Creatvie Commons: Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International, CC BY 4.0(https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/1.0/), que permite el uso no comercial, distribucion y reproducción en cualquier medio, siempre que la obra original sea debidamente citada. Para uso comercial, por favor póngase en contacto con revista.medicina@urp.edu.pe.
