The dimensions of healthcare professionals, the cornerstone of health management sustainability, affected by the COVID-19 pandemic and the rising digital transformation in the sector: An example of a pandemic hospital

The COVID-19 pandemic, which has affected the whole world, is the biggest epidemic of the last century. Considering that the epidemic, which greatly affects social life, may be closely related to human health as well as psychology, the levels of exposure of health professionals who are at the forefront of the fight against the pandemic were analyzed within this framework. The concept of digital transformation, which is seen as an inevitable result of the wind of renewal brought about by the coronavirus outbreak and gained momentum in this process, has also been discussed and it has been tried to explain how the changes caused by the process in the health system are met from the perspective of health professionals and the effects of this perspective on the development of rational transformation. The main objective of the study is to investigate the extent and in what way the transition to COVID-19 pandemic period and digital health technologies affects health personnel and how rational practices rising in the sector are adopted and developed. In this context, the COVID-19 pandemic and the digitalization process in the health sector were considered as independent variables and its effects on health personnel and the way they meet new technologies were tried to be examined experimentally. In the research, 284 questionnaires answered from the questionnaires collected from about 1000 health personnel working in Osmaniye State Hospital of Osmaniye Province in 2023 were evaluated. The collected data were tested using the SPSS program. As a result of the research, it was revealed that the COVID-19 Pandemic had a negative and direct effect on the health personnel physically and mentally. In addition, resistance to digitalization has been tried to be observed. It is a fact that many health personnel have been infected and even lost their lives during the pandemic process. Again, as a result of the epidemic, behavioral deterioration such as depression, anxiety, burnout and attrition stand out as prominent concepts in the psychology of health personnel. In times of epidemic and crisis; The management and sustainability of health services and the access of the community to basic health services are possible with the protection of health personnel. It is important to understand what health personnel are experiencing during the pandemic period or to reveal what damages they may suffer, and when this happens, it is thought that it will provide health managers with important guidance on how to behave effectively in the fight against the epidemic, what measures to take and possible risks. In addition, with this research; With the COVID-19 pandemic, the reactions and effects of health professionals to the process were examined, where digitalization has accelerated in the health sector. The way health professionals evaluate digital transformation, how they meet it, whether it is beneficial or an obstacle in service delivery is wanted to be understood. The integration into the digital transformation in the health sector can be as strong as possible with the full harmony and competence of human resources. It is assumed that the openness and willingness of all personnel to technological developments forms the basis of transformation and will bring positive feedback. Prejudices about technology, ignorance, resistance to innovation and the traditional structure and socio-political attitude of Turkish society have been tried to be the biggest obstacles in the development of information and information systems. The limitation of the study is based on the example of health personnel working in only one pandemic hospital in Turkey and the number of 284 is largely insufficient to represent all health personnel in the country, it is recommended to conduct research on a wider sample. When faced with a possible cyber attack, it is a concern about the level of security the data stored in the digital environment can be.