The COVID-ICU Healthcare Professional Study

Health Care professionals in intensive care units (ICU) are working front-line with
coronavirus disease (COVID-19) patients with severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2
(SARS-CoV-2) in need of intensive care treatment.

Data collected will identify the health care professionals' (nurses, medical doctors,
leaders) views and experiences from the planning period of COVID-19 ICU units until a
follow-up at 12 months.Themes to be covered in the survey are organization, information,
communication across disciplines, education, practical implementation, use of personal
protective equipment, daily working conditions and psychosocial aspects. The Oslo University
Hospital/University of Oslo, GDPR (General Data Protection Regulation) compliant
"TSD"-Services for Sensitive data web-based solution "Nettskjema" will be used combined for
consent form and data collection from the survey. It is within the scope of the study to
perform sub analysis on background variables as profession related to daily working
experiences on COVID-ICU and psychosocial aspects.

A few of the informants (medical doctors, nurses, leaders) participating in the cohort study
will randomly (computerized) be asked to participate in focus groups to get a deeper
understanding of the experiences of the health care professionals during the pandemic and
after the pandemic when they are back to a normal working condition. Leaders at the
randomized hospitals will be asked to participate in individualized interviews. Data from the
focus group interviews and individual interviews will be taped on a recorder approved by data
protection officer at Oslo University Hospital and then stored at a secured computerized
research place at Oslo University Hospital.

The gained knowledge from both the survey, the focus group interviews and individual
interviews in this study may guide hospital directors and the government in follow up of
health care professionals and to prepare for a later pandemic.