Abstract
Purpose: The study investigated the impact of COVID-19 on ophthalmology healthcare workers at military facilities in Saudi Arabia. The study was motivated by the worldwide spread of COVID-19, which has affected the majority of aspects of healthcare delivery. The study objectives were to evaluate the influence of COVID-19 on ophthalmology healthcare, to assess the psychological impact on ophthalmology healthcare and to study the professional implications for ophthalmology healthcare workers at military facilities. Methods: A descriptive quantitative design was used. The study included 174 ophthalmology healthcare practitioners serving at military healthcare facilities in Saudi Arabia. It employed a convenience sampling technique to recruit the ophthalmologists to participate in a questionnaire survey. The data analysis was descriptive. Results: The findings suggested that ophthalmologist facilities had to make changes to cope with the COVID-19 pandemic. In addition, the findings revealed that healthcare workers' emotional response in reaction to COVID-19 was low. Furthermore, the study found that the pandemic negatively affected the ophthalmologist profession through reduced patient volumes and changes to healthcare worker operations. Some ophthalmologists have had to consider using telehealth services to comply with social distancing policies. Conclusions: The study examined the effect of the COVID-19 pandemic on ophthalmology healthcare workers in Saudi Arabia. The disease has had effects on the ophthalmology landscape in Saudi Arabia.