“Who Else If Not Us”: An Exploratory-Descriptive Qualitative Study of Kazakhstani Frontline Professionals’ Experience and Perceptions During the Coronavirus Disease 2019 Pandemic

Little is known about the experiences of frontline professionals in Kazakhstan. Although studies of frontline workers have been conducted worldwide, it is imperative that caution should be exercised when extrapolating findings from disparate societies and generalizing them to Central Asian countries...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Qualitative health research 2024-05, Vol.34 (6), p.507-516
Main Authors: Foster, Faye, Kanderzhanova, Akbota, Umbetkulova, Saltanat, Stolyarova, Valentina, Sarria-Santamera, Antonio, Cobb-Zygadlo, Deanne
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Adult
Attitude of Health Personnel
Coronaviruses
COVID-19
COVID-19 - epidemiology
COVID-19 - psychology
Epidemics
Female
God
Hospitals
Humans
Kazakhstan
Male
Medical personnel
Middle Aged
Nurses
Pandemics
Perceptions
Physicians
Professionalism
Qualitative Research
Resilience
SARS-CoV-2
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Summary:Little is known about the experiences of frontline professionals in Kazakhstan. Although studies of frontline workers have been conducted worldwide, it is imperative that caution should be exercised when extrapolating findings from disparate societies and generalizing them to Central Asian countries. As such, the purpose of this study was to explore and describe the firsthand experiences, perceptions, and knowledge gained from the experience of Kazakh frontline physicians and nurses during the COVID-19 pandemic. An exploratory-descriptive qualitative (EDQ) study was conducted over the course of a year in COVID-19 hospitals in Kazakhstan, with physicians (n = 23) and nurses (n = 7). Each participant was interviewed three times between May 2021 and May 2022. Braun and Clarke’s six-step method was used for the thematic analysis. Three overarching themes and subthemes were identified: (1) Longitudinal Journey (“Nobody knew, nobody understood, nobody was ready”; “It’s just life”); (2) Facets of Professionalism (“In my lifetime this is something unique”; “Who else if not us”; “We survived the war and the enemy”); and (3) Facets of Resilience (“God’s providence”; “A good word heals too”). In light of the lack of research that has previously been conducted in Kazakhstan, the results of this study offer important new insight into the experiences of medical professionals during the COVID-19 epidemic.
ISSN:1049-7323
1552-7557
DOI:10.1177/10497323231216363