Caring for children and families during the COVID-19 pandemic: innovations and changes experienced by nurses

Abstract

Objective: To understand the experience of nurses working in pediatric units in the face of innovations and changes in the process of caring for children and families during the COVID-19 pandemic. Also, the objective is to understand the typical experience of nurses in this care. Method: Qualitative research, which involved the participation of 16 nurses from pediatric units of a public teaching hospital. The data were analyzed according to the theoretical-methodological framework of Alfred Schütz’s social phenomenology. Results: The participants’ reports generated the categories: the challenge of experiencing changes amid fear, the team’s adaptation to innovations and changes caused by the COVID-19 pandemic and the expectation for care and the work process. Conclusion: The understanding of the nurses’ experience highlighted changes, team adaptations and expectations for the care of children and families, which, although permeated by learning, were experienced by ethical dilemmas and moral suffering for these professionals.