Fortitude in the face of crisis: Unraveling the nexus of grit, motivation, and self-esteem among health workers in COVID-19 treatment and diagnostic centres in Nigeria

Psychological effect of COVID-19 among health workers

Abstract

Objective: Few studies have been conducted to assess the psychological status of healthcare workers during the COVID-19 pandemic in Nigeria. This study aims to assess the grit, motivation, and self-esteem of health workers in the COVID-19 treatment centres and the relationship between grittiness, low self-esteem, and motivation.

Method: A cross-sectional study was performed via an online survey on 113 consenting and consecutively enrolled health workers in 56 public and private COVID-19 management centres in Nigeria. The grit questionnaire instrument developed by Duckworth, Hellriegel and Slocum’s motivation instrument and Rosenberg-validated self-esteem scale was adopted.

Results: The demographic characteristics showed their average age was 39.876 years (M = 39.876, SD = 9.0289), with a median age of 38 years (Mdn = 38). Nurses (27.19%), health attendants (16.67%), medical laboratory scientists (14.04), medical doctors (12.28%) and others participated in the study, Grittiness is positively and weakly correlated with self-esteem (r = 0.24675, p = 0.00842). There is a significant correlation between grittiness and motivation (p < 0.05). Also, there is no statistically significant correlation between motivation and self-esteem (p > 0.05). Motivation is negatively and weakly correlated with grittiness (r = -0.33316, p = 0.00031).

Conclusion: The findings suggest that grittiness plays a significant role in influencing self-esteem.  Additionally, gender was a significant predictor, indicating that males may have lower self-esteem compared to females. However, motivation did not show a significant association with self-esteem. Encouraging the development of grit and resilience among health workers may contribute to improved self-esteem and overall well-being.