This book examines the experiences of global healthcare workers during the COVID-19 pandemic. It shines a light on the experiences of healthcare workers during the pandemic, exploring their lived experiences of delivering care without losing sight of the emotional and symbolic nature of their work. Incorporating cutting-edge research from global experts in medical anthropology, medical sociology, medicine, psychology and nursing, it uniquely demonstrates the value of rapid qualitative research during infectious epidemics. Drawing on data collected during the COVID-19 pandemic, the book explores global healthcare policies and healthcare workers experiences across 20 countries.

Cecilia Vindrola-Padros is a Medical Anthropologist interested in applied health research and the development of rapid approaches to research. She has written extensively on the use of rapid qualitative research and currently co-directs the Rapid Research, Evaluation and Appraisal Lab (RREAL) with Dr. Ginger Johnson. Cecilia works as a Senior Research Fellow in the Department of Targeted Intervention, UCL and Social Scientist at the NIAA Health Services Research Centre (HSRC), Royal College of Anaesthetists (RCoA).

Ginger Johnson is a Medical Anthropologist who has conducted research on behalf of the World Food Programme (WFP), United Nations Childrens Fund (UNICEF), the World Health Organization (WHO), the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies (IFRC), United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA), Population Services International (PSI) and United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR). She was embedded in West Africa with the IFRCduring the 2014-2016 Ebola outbreak and currently co-directs the Rapid Research, Evaluation and Appraisal Lab (RREAL) with Dr. Cecilia Vindrola-Padros. 

Chapter 1: Caring on the frontline: An introduction.- Chapter 2:Reflecting and learning from the experiences of COVID-19 researchers on gaining ethics approval during the pandemic.- Chapter 3:Policies and politics: An analysis of the public policies aimed at the reorganisation of healthcare delivery during the COVID-19 pandemic.- Chapter 4:Protecting and feeling protected: HCWs experiences with personal protective equipment during the COVID-19 outbreak (PPE).- Chapter 5: Thrown into the unknown: Uncertainty and the experiences of HCW during the pandemic in Chile, Brazil and Argentina.- Chapter 6:People are not taking the outbreak seriously: Interpretations of religion and public health policy during the COVID-19 pandemic.- Chapter 7: Healthcare workers mental health and well-being during the COVID-19 pandemic.- Chapter 8: We are not all the same: Inequalities between HCWs experiences of care and how these are shaped by ethnicity.- Chapter 9:Long-term care staff perceptions of providing care during the COVID-19 pandemic in the United States and Switzerland: Balancing protection and social isolation.- Chapter 10: Uncanny Valley: Healthcare workers in settings of controlled response.- Chapter 11: Testing times: COVID-19 testing and health care workers in South Africa.- Chapter 12:Even death has changed: end-of-life, burials, and bereavement during the COVID-19 pandemic.- Chapter 13:The Knock-on Effects of COVID-19 on Healthcare Services.- Chapter 14: Lessons for current and future pandemics.