How did nurses cope with the fast, comprehensive organisational changes at Danish hospital wards during the COVID-19 pandemic? An interview study based on nurses’ experiences

Abstract

PurposeThe COVID-19 pandemic has influenced hospital work and healthcare workers all over the world. We explored how Danish nurses coped with the fast, comprehensive organisational changes in their workplace and identified barriers to and facilitators for organisations ensuring the best possible conditions for nurses to meet these challenges. The study focuses on the organisational setting and how it did or did not support the nurses in their work.MethodsA qualitative explorative design was used in interviewing 23 nurses who had worked at a COVID-19 ward in one of three hospitals. Data were collected in the summer of 2020, and the analysis was inspired by Paul Ricoeur’s theory of narratives and interpretation.ResultsThe presence of managers in the wards helped the nurses in the form of psychological and practical support. Working within an organisation that provides a safe environment was essential for nurses. The experience of a safe environment allowed nurses to ask questions, which supported them in finding solutions to specific tasks in the new and critical working environment. Barriers to handling the new situation were an absence of managers and a lack of a sense of belongingness and trust.ConclusionThis study highlights the need for management to be present in the ward and for organisational support to be available to nurses so they can provide optimal treatment and care when working in new and unknown conditions during a pandemic. Practical assistance from managers to ease the job is beneficial. Furthermore, the presence of management is essential to provide psychological support and create a safe environment because this allows nurses to ask questions about how to better manage new and critical tasks.

Frontline nurses' experiences of managing visitor restrictions during the COVID‐19 pandemic in a Danish university hospital – Lessons learned

“…The nurses in the current study primarily got their information on the shifting restrictions from their charge nurse and department managers, underlining the vital importance of the charge nurses' leadership role during the pandemic. This point has also been established in other studies [14,[29][30][31][32]. In our study, the nurses experienced a lack of overview and predictability, reflecting the global situation characterised by uncertainty as to how the pandemic would evolve.…”

Resilience among health care workers while working during a pandemic: A systematic review and meta synthesis of qualitative studies

“…Management that was physically present, visible, and available during shifts supported HWCs resilience and addressed concerns; “It meant a lot that they [the ward managers] were present in the department. They contributed to the good atmosphere and a feeling of community … you did not feel left alone” ( Thude et al, 2021 ).…”

A equipa de enfermagem diante da deterioração clínica do paciente na enfermaria: uma revisão integrativa

“…Thude BR, Primdahl J, Jensen HI, Elkjaer M, Hoffmann E, Boye LK, et al (25) 2021 / Inglés / Scopus / Dinamarca. Wong HJ, Bierbrier R, Ma P, Quan S, Sannie L, Wu RC (27) 2017 / Inglés / Scopus / Canadá.…”

“…De las 19 investigaciones, 15 (79%) tuvieron como escenario un hospital (P1, P2, P3, P4, P5, P7, P8, P10, P11, P12, P13, P15, P16, P18, P19 ) , (3,(10)(11)(12)(13)(14)16,17,(19)(20)(21)23,24,26,27) mientras que 4 (21%) consistieron en estudios multicéntricos (P6, P9, P14, P17). (15,18,22,25) Nueve (47%) publicaciones eran cualitativas, 9 (47%) cuantitativas y 1 (5%) cualicuantitativa.…”