Healthcare professionals' perception of their working environment and how to handle mental strain

Healthcare professionals (HCP) are an important resource, but the shortage of staff and an increased volume of patients with comorbidities might put a pressure on them. We speculated if mental strain was a challenge for HCP working in a department of Anaesthesiology. The purpose of the study was to explore HCP's perception of their psychosocial work environment and how they handle the mental strain in a department of Anaesthesiology in a university hospital. In addition, to identify types of strategies to handle the mental strain. This was an exploratory study based on semi-structured, individual interview with anaesthesiologists, nurses and nurse assistants employed in the Department of Anaesthesiology. The interviews were conducted online and were recorded in Teams, transcribed, and analysed using systematic text condensation. A total of 21 interviews were conducted with HCP from the different sections of the department. The interviewees described that they had experienced mental strain at work, with the unforeseen situation as the most challenging. High workflow is mentioned as an important contributing factor to mental strain. Most of the interviewees found that their traumatising experiences were met with support. Overall, everyone had someone to talk to either at work or privately, but they still found it difficult to talk about collegial conflicts or own vulnerabilities. Teamwork is described as strong in some sections. All HCP had experienced mental strain. Differences were found in how they perceived the experience of mental strain, their reactions and needs of support as well as their coping strategies.