Aim To explore the challenges experienced by ICU nurses throughout the provision of care for COVID‐19 patients. Background The intensive care unit nurses, who are at the frontline of fighting against COVID‐19 and defusing this crisis, are faced with various challenges throughout the provision of care for COVID‐19 patients. Methods In this qualitative descriptive study, a total of 17 nurses working in intensive care units were selected using purposive sampling. Data were collected using semi‐structured face‐to‐face interviews. After recording and transcribing interviews, the concepts were extracted using the content analysis method. Findings The nurses reported the four following challenges throughout the provision of care for COVID‐19 patients: ‘organization's inefficiency in supporting nurses’, ‘physical exhaustion’, ‘living with uncertainty’ and ‘psychological burden of the disease’. Conclusion The present study portrayed a clear understanding of the challenges faced by nurses working in intensive care units during the crisis of the COVID‐19 pandemic based on their lived experiences. Implications for Nursing Management A profound understanding of these challenges in the current critical situation can help health care authorities adopt appropriate measures to resolve these challenges, provide health care facilities, support the health workforce, give accurate and evidence‐based information and perform psychological interventions on how to handle the current crisis.

Background In addition to physical problems, patients with COVID-19 suffer from considerable stress throughout the disease crisis. It is important to address mental health needs and not to ignore the psychological dimension in this group of patients. In this regard, the first practical step is to have a clear understanding of patients’ psychological issues. Therefore, this study aimed to explore the psychological disturbances of COVID-19 survivors throughout the disease crisis. Method This qualitative study was conducted using a phenomenological approach through 14 individual semi-structured in-depth interviews with patients recovered from COVID-19. Data were analyzed using Colaizzi’s seven-step method. Results Three themes of “living in limbo”, “psychological distress behind the wall” and “psychological burden of being a carrier” were extracted as the psychological disturbances of COVID-19 survivors throughout the disease crisis. Conclusion This study portrayed a better understanding of psychological disturbances of COVID-19 survivors throughout the disease crisis based on their lived experiences. Given the ambiguity in the time of the disease eradication and its continuing course, a deep understanding of these experiences in the current critical situation can help healthcare officials to make appropriate decisions and take measures to assess and identify psychological traumas and perform interventions to improve the mental state of these patients.

Background The exponential spread of COVID-19 has caused a huge threat to public health worldwide. Providing care for patients with COVID-19 is a stressful experience for ICU nurses, which can affect their protective reactions. The present study was conducted to explore the protective reactions of ICU nurses providing care for patients with COVID-19. Methods This qualitative descriptive study was conducted to discover the protective reactions of nurses providing care for patients with COVID-19. A total of 14 ICU nurses were selected by purposive sampling. Data were collected using individual semi-structured face-to-face interviews. All interviews were recorded, and then codes and themes were extracted using content analysis method. Finding Seventeen subcategories, six categories and two themes were extracted from the analysis of data. These themes include “Unbalanced self-protective reactions” and “Responsible self-protective reactions”. Conclusion During the COVID-19 epidemic and crisis, ICU nurses exhibit different self-protective reactions when providing care for patients with COVID-19, which include unbalanced and responsible reactions. Nursing managers can mitigate these unbalanced reactions by identifying them and their roots. Identifying the protective reactions of ICU nurses in providing care for patients with COVID-19 could assist in developing the necessary interventions to promote positive reactions and reduce unbalanced reactions by finding their root causes.

Purpose This study was conducted to explain the psychological reactions of COVID‐19 patients to the stress caused by the disease crisis from the perspective of the survivors. Design and Methods A phenomenological approach was adopted to the qualitative study of 14 COVID‐19 survivors selected through purposive sampling. Findings Two themes extracted as the psychological reactions of the patients to the COVID‐19‐induced stress included “self‐moderating effect of stress” and “psychological maladaptation.” Practice Implications The present findings appear effective in laying the foundations for performing interventions to improve constructive psychological reactions such as using self‐moderating mechanisms of the COVID‐19‐induced stress and reducing or eliminating maladaptive psychological reactions such as depression, anger, self‐blaming, and regret.