Fundamental drivers of nurses’ experiences of ICU surging during the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic

Abstract

Purpose of reviewNurses working in intensive care units have been heavily impacted by the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic. This review summarizes the current state of the evidence regarding intensive care nurses experience of the pandemic.Recent findingsThe pandemic has had an impact on: nursing workload, the organization of nurse staffing, experiences of staff redeployed into ICU, nurses’ perceptions of the safety and quality of patient care, and staff health. In the few comparative studies, mental health was worse for nurses than other healthcare workers in intensive care. Despite some of this evidence being published early in the pandemic, no studies were found to evaluate interventions to improve nurses’ experiences.Summary implications for practice or researchMany of the adverse impacts of the pandemic are interdependent; for example, reducing nurses’ workload is likely to have benefits for mental health indicators.Adverse mental health outcomes are likely to have an impact on future recruitment and retention for intensive care nursing.More studies are needed to understand the longer term impact of the pandemic on intensive care nurses.

The early impact of COVID-19 on intensive care nurses’ personal and professional well-being: A qualitative study

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The construction and practice of a standardized nursing service system based on the designated hospital for the treatment of COVID-19 in China

“…Based on the guidance of national policies and guidelines related to the prevention and control of neo-crown, research on the management norms and programs of designated hospitals for the treatment of neo-crown has also begun. Previous studies have been conducted on staff management systems in isolation wards of NCC sentinel admission hospitals [ 7 ], infection protection for healthcare workers in NCC sentinel admission hospitals [ 8 ], and medical management in NCC sentinel admission hospitals [ 9 ]. During the same period, local norms for sentinel treatment of NCC pneumonia, fever clinic, pre-screening triage, and management of isolation wards have also been introduced, but norms and service standards for nursing services in NCC sentinel admission hospitals are still lacking.…”