Background: The global healthcare system is continuing to confront major challenges during the current COVID-19 pandemic, with the second wave the deadliest one to date. This study aimed to identify and explore the challenges and burdens of frontline healthcare workers during the current pandemic, and to help prepare workforce support plans for them now and in the future. Methods: A qualitative systematic review method involving thematic synthesis without meta-analysis was used to analyze relevant studies from five databases from November 2020 to February 2021: MEDLINE via PubMed, CINAHL Complete, Embase through Ovid, Scopus, and Web of Science. The quality of the studies was evaluated using the Critical Appraisal Skills Program Qualitative Research Checklist appraisal tools. This systematic review was conducted in accordance with the PRISMA statement. The informants are healthcare workers working at the frontlines and providing care to COVID-19 patients. Results: Ten studies revealed the burden of healthcare providers during the COVID-19 pandemic, with having the related challenges experienced by 498 participants (doctors, nurses, pediatric nurses, paramedical staff, support staff, and physiotherapists). Our findings fell into four main themes as follows: inadequate preparedness; emotional challenges; insufficient equipment and information; and work burnout. Conclusion: The study results demonstrate that the COVID-19 pandemic has had an impact on all aspects of life, especially for healthcare providers, who work on the frontlines. The pandemic has affected the frontline workers’ physical and psychological health, causing them to experience emotional distress such as fear, anxiety, depression, and stress. In addition, the pandemic can increase posttraumatic stress disorder, leading to burnout and discontinuity of healthcare workloads to ensure the patients’ safety and the high quality of care provided to the patients.

“When we talk of the way I live right now, I am not having a hard time because of this COVID-19 crisis but because of the protocols in which we are being prohibited to go outside.” (P1)

Resiliency for older people represents the capacity to return to equilibrium when difficulties arise and was found as integral predictor of their health status. This study aims to develop a theory that attempts to explain the older adults’ resiliency perspectives during crisis and how it has affected their well-being and quality of life as population group. Deductive theory generation using axiomatic approach was adopted resulting to five axioms that served as basis for the generation of three propositions such as: (1) An older person’s health needs have tendencies to develop into a health threat, (2) when the threat is perceived, older persons developed a sense of internal control and adaptation to the changes it creates known as internal resiliency, and (3) internal resiliency can influence the quality of life in old age. The evolved theory suggests that in times of crisis (e.g., COVID-19 pandemic), health needs develop into a health threat that compels older persons to develop internal resiliency in order to preserve their integrity, wellbeing and quality of life. This study widens the nursing perspectives in addressing older persons’ resiliency by the unique condition at which older clients are placed affecting both the pathological nature of the illness as well as the preventive interventions which the society is forced to implement.

Background: Few studies have been conducted on unique conditions such as coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) as an emerging health emergency, despite the strong link between resilience and quality of life in older persons. This study validated the expanded need-threat internal resiliency theory, which claims that an older person who establishes a strong sense of internal resiliency adapts to the situation by maintaining a better disposition. Methods: The underlying methodology in this study was a qualitative design using multiple case studies with non-probability purposive sampling to choose the target participants aged 60 years and above.Results: This cross-case analysis showed two major themes that explained and described the similarities and differences between the internal resiliency and quality of life of older adult participants with their respective sub-themes. Furthermore, this study concluded that older adults who have developed a strong sense of internal resilience, as manifested in the participants’ coping strategies during the COVID-19 pandemic, have sustained quality of life and better life satisfaction.Conclusion: The study proposes a shift in the perspective of aging by emphasizing the importance of resilience as a dynamic process helping in the coping process and adapting to new emerging pandemics, leading to improved quality of life amid adversity.

The COVID-19 crisis has been a challenging and stressful event for individuals with known underlying health problems, not to mention their higher risk of contracting the disease. This phenomenological inquiry was conducted to explore the common self-care practices of the Meranao tribe in the Province of Lanao del Sur, Philippines, concerning their management of hypertension amidst the ongoing pandemic health crisis. This study employed a descriptive-phenomenological approach. Ten known hypertensive adults participated in the study selected using purposive sampling. Data collection employed focus group discussion (FGD) and then analyzed using Colaizzi's approach. Four themes were derived which explained the common practices of the tribe in the self-care management of hypertension amidst the crisis: 1) the use of herbal remedies; 2) compliance with prescribed medications; 3) dietary control; and 4) remaining physically active. Patients’ strict compliance with known scientific self-care practices in managing hypertension forms a multidimensional strategy in controlling, managing, and preventing hypertension and its related complications.Abstrak Studi Fenomenologi tentang Praktik Manajemen Perawatan Diri pada Pasien Hipertensi Saat Pandemi COVID-19. Krisis COVID-19 telah menjadi periode yang menantang dan menegangkan bagi individu dengan riwayat masalah kesehatan, belum lagi risiko yang lebih tinggi untuk menderita penyakit tersebut. Studi fenomenologi ini bertujuan untuk mengeksplorasi praktik perawatan diri Suku Meranao di Provinsi Lanao del Sur, Filipina yang berhubungan dengan manajemen hipertensi di tengah krisis kesehatan yang sedang berlangsung. Melalui pendekatan fenomenologi deskriptif, sebanyak 10 orang dewasa penderita hipertensi bersedia untuk menjadi partisipan penelitian ini dengan menggunakan metode purposive sampling. Data diperoleh melalui focus group discussion (FGD), dan dianalisis menggunakan pendekatan Collaizi. Empat tema diperoleh untuk menjelaskan praktik mereka dalam manajemen perawatan diri hipertensi di tengah krisis: 1) penggunaan obat herbal; 2) kepatuhan terhadap obat yang diresepkan; 3) kontrol makanan, dan 4) tetap aktif secara fisik. Kepatuhan ketat pasien pada praktik perawatan diri secara ilmiah dalam manajemen hipertensi memainkan strategi multidimensi dalam kontrol, manajemen, dan pencegahan hipertensi serta komplikasi yang terkait. Kata Kunci: Filipina, hipertensi, praktik manajemen perawatan diri, riset kualitatif, suku Meranao