Experiences of critical care nurses fighting against COVID‐19: A qualitative phenomenological study

Abstract

Aim This study sought to describe the experiences of critical care nurses caring for patients infected by coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID‐19). Design A qualitative phenomenological design was used. Methods We enrolled 15 nurses who provided care for patients infected by COVID‐19 purposively and through snowballing, using a phenomenological approach in critical care units of Iran's public hospitals between May and June 2020. The semi‐structured interviews were carried out either via face‐to‐face or telephone and were analyzed using the 7‐step method of Colaizzi. Results The experiences of nurses caring for patients infected with COVID‐19 were categorized into four challenges, including psychological (eight subthemes), organizational (six subthemes), social (six subthemes), and professional (five subthemes). In general, based on the current classification, there seems to be a mixture of positive and negative effects on the psychological, social, and professional challenges and the negative effect only on the organizational challenges. Conclusions Positive and negative emotions and experiences have coexisted for the critical care nurses since the COVID‐19 outbreak. Emotional support and psychological counseling play an important role in maintaining nurses' optimal mental health during the COVID‐19 crisis. Adequate protective equipment, financial and nonfinancial supports, effective communication, training and hiring of staff, and appropriate work shifts are also required to reduce nurses' negative experiences when providing care for the affected individuals.

Nurse's Psychological Experiences of Caring for Severe COVID-19 Patients in Intensive Care Units: A Qualitative Meta-Synthesis

“…The supply of gloves was reduced. Equipment was scarce” ( 34 ); “ As a nurse, you are in an important place. You are always in contact with the patient, but you are always in the background in the system.…”

“…Nurses believe that they need care and support from other people outside, for example, their families and friends, which could be a great spiritual boost during tough times. “ I was inspired by the fact that my family was proud of me” ( 34 ). However, to the distress of some nurses, their families feared infection, and the lack of family support troubled the nurse.…”

“…Overall, this review found that almost all studies reported various physical conditions among participants (12,26,(28)(29)(30)(31)(32)(33)(34)(35)(36), including, but not limited to, sleep disturbances, headaches, damaged skin, exhaustion, and breathlessness. These conditions could be attributed to long working hours and high working intensity, and the treatment of critically ill patients increases the physical consumption of nurses.…”

Long-Term Care Facilities and Nursing Homes during the First Wave of the COVID-19 Pandemic: A Scoping Review of the Perspectives of Professionals, Families and Residents

“…Several qualitative studies have addressed experiences of the pandemic, exploring the perceptions of hospitalised patients [ 16 ], their family members [ 17 ], and frontline healthcare workers at hospitals [ 18 , 19 , 20 , 21 ]. However, we were unable to find studies that collected and comprehensively examined the perspectives of older persons living in nursing homes and long-term care facilities, employees of these facilities, or family members of residents during the COVID-19 pandemic.…”

Psychometric properties of the Persian version of Depression Anxiety Stress Scale-21 Items (DASS-21) in a sample of health professionals: a cross-sectional study

“…The high prevalence of depression, anxiety, and stress is associated with worse patient care safety and health care quality [ 14 ], higher occurrence of adverse events [ 15 ]. On the other hand, the COVID-19 pandemic has an important role in the well-being of healthcare professionals, especially nurses [ 16 ]. A systematic review and meta-analysis showed that almost one-third of nurses had depression, anxiety, and stress during the COVID-19 pandemic [ 17 ].…”