‘It was difficult, but our struggle to touch lives gave us strength’: The experience of nurses working on COVID‐19 wards

Abstract

Background Nurses are considered important healthcare professionals during the management of the pandemic process due to the considerable amount of time they spend in the face‐to‐face nursing of infected patients. To optimise the service of healthcare workers, it is recommended that the mental health needs of the health workforce are addressed. Aims and Objectives This study aimed to explore the experiences and coping strategies of Turkish nurses working in pandemic units. Methods A grounded theory design was applied. In‐depth interviews were conducted with 15 nurses. The data were analysed according to the constant comparative method. Results The study generated a core category (‘It was difficult working in the unknown, but our struggle to touch lives gave us strength’), showing that all nurses felt heroic via the satisfaction of touching patients’ lives and uncertain. Four main categories emerged: being caught in the pandemic, empowerment for coping with the struggle, challenges during the coping process and effects of the pandemic on life. Conclusions Nurses felt that their profession was sacred and valued by society, and comprehensive support had facilitated the process. Nurses had difficulty in managing their fear of infecting others and adapting to many new elements, the learning process and a lack of understanding of their role as team members. The nurses attending to the pandemic have experienced the effects of COVID‐19 on their lives, such as psychological growth, psychological symptoms and being labelled as high risk. Relevance to clinical practice Nurses would be further empowered by government and society's support and acceptance of professionalism in nursing. The findings suggest that the resources for the psychological support of nurses in the pandemic should be increased. Regular and intensive training for nursing is necessary to promote adaptation and efficacy in crisis management.

Psychosocial experiences of frontline nurses working in hospital-based settings during the COVID-19 pandemic - A qualitative systematic review

“…Twenty-eight study characteristics were included in Table 4 . The studies were conducted in China ( Fan et al, 2020 , Gao et al, 2020 , Hou et al, 2020 , Jia et al, 2021 , Liu et al, 2020 , Liu et al, 2020 , Sheng et al, 2020 , Sun et al, 2020 , Tan et al, 2020 , Zhang et al, 2020 ), Iran ( Eftekhar et al, 2020 , Galehdar et al, 2020 , Kalateh et al, 2020 , Galehdar et al, 2020 ), Turkey ( Kackin et al, 2020 , Deliktas et al, 2021 , Muz and Erdoğan, 2021 , Coşkun and Günay, 2021 ), UK ( Bennett et al, 2020 , Vindrola-Padros et al, 2020 ), USA ( Arnetz et al, 2020 ), Brazil ( Góes et al, 2020 ), Pakistan ( Sethi et al, 2020 ), Spain ( Fernández-Castillo et al, 2021 ), Japan ( Ohta et al, 2020 ), South Korea ( Lee and Lee, 2020 ), Singapore ( Goh et al, 2020 ), and Nigeria ( Okediran et al, 2020 ). The setting for 25 of the included studies were hospitals, two were in COVID-19 designated wards, and one study was in a COVID-19 isolation center.…”

“…Two studies used a cross-sectional design and one study used a rapid appraisal method, all of which used a qualitative approach to collect, analyse, and report data with appropriate rigor. Theoretical methodologies adopted by the studies were phenomenology ( Gao et al, 2020 , Hou et al, 2020 , Kackin et al, 2020 , Liu et al, 2020 , Sheng et al, 2020 , Sun et al, 2020 , Tan et al, 2020 , Muz and Erdoğan, 2021 , Lee and Lee, 2020 ), and grounded theory ( Deliktas et al, 2021 ). Data collection methods included interviews ( Eftekhar et al, 2020 , Fan et al, 2020 , Galehdar et al, 2020 , Gao et al, 2020 , Hou et al, 2020 , Jia et al, 2021 , Kackin et al, 2020 , Kalateh et al, 2020 , Liu et al, 2020 , Liu et al, 2020 , Sheng et al, 2020 , Sun et al, 2020 , Tan et al, 2020 , Zhang et al, 2020 , Deliktas et al, 2021 , Muz and Erdoğan, 2021 , Galehdar et al, 2020 , Fernández-Castillo et al, 2021 , Ohta et al, 2020 , Lee and Lee, 2020 , Goh et al, 2020 , Vindrola-Padros et al, 2020 , Okediran et al, 2020 ), surveys or questionnaires ( Arnetz et al, 2020 , Góes et al, 2020 , Coşkun and Günay, 2021 , Sethi et al, 2020 ), and digital audio recording ( Bennett et al, 2020 ).…”

“…The additional studies from the citation pearl search were included through the joint decisions of all the authors. Finally, 28 studies that met the inclusion criteria were assessed for quality and included for synthesis ( Arnetz et al, 2020 , Eftekhar et al, 2020 , Fan et al, 2020 , Galehdar et al, 2020 , Gao et al, 2020 , Góes et al, 2020 , Hou et al, 2020 , Jia et al, 2021 , Kackin et al, 2020 , Kalateh et al, 2020 , Liu et al, 2020 , Liu et al, 2020 , Sheng et al, 2020 , Sun et al, 2020 , Tan et al, 2020 , Zhang et al, 2020 , Deliktas et al, 2021 , Muz and Erdoğan, 2021 , Coşkun and Günay, 2021 , Galehdar et al, 2020 , Sethi et al, 2020 , Fernández-Castillo et al, 2021 , Ohta et al, 2020 , Lee and Lee, 2020 , Goh et al, 2020 , Bennett et al, 2020 , Vindrola-Padros et al, 2020 , Okediran et al, 2020 ). The study selection process is presented in a PRISMA flow diagram ( Figure 1 ).…”

“…How valuable is the research? Deliktas et al ( Deliktas et al, 2021 ) Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes 10/10 Muz et al ( Muz and Erdoğan, 2021 ) Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes No Yes Yes Yes Yes 9/10 Coşkun et al ( Coşkun and Günay, 2021 ) Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes No Yes Yes Yes Yes 9/10 Galehdar et al ( Galehdar et al, 2020 ) Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes No Yes Yes Yes Yes 9/10 Sethi et al ( Sethi et al, 2020 ) Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Cannot tell Yes Yes 9/10 Fernández-Castillo et al ( Fernández-Castillo et al, 2021 ) Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes No Yes Yes Yes Yes 9/10 Ohta et al ( Ohta et al, 2020 ) Yes Yes Yes No Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes …”

“… • Nurse leaders were engaged in facilitating frontline nurses’ psychological adaptation. Deliktas et al ( Deliktas et al, 2021 ) 2020 Turkey Hospital To explore Turkish nurses’ experiences of working at COVID-19 pandemic units. • Qualitative Study • Classic grounded theory methodology • Purposive sampling and theoretical sampling • Nurses: N = 15 • 14 females, 1 male • Age range: 21-39 • Mean age: NR • Work experience range: 7 months-22 years • Mean work experience: NR In-depth telephonic interviews Constant comparative method • Difficulties with the unknown.…”