We're on mute! Exclusion of nurses' voices in national decisions and responses to <scp>COVID</scp>‐19: An international perspective

Rasmussen, Bodil; Holton, Sara; Wynter, Karen; Phillips, David J.; David, Jennifer; Rothmann, Mette Juel; Skjøth, Mette Maria; Wijk, Helle; Frederiksen, Kirsten; Åhlström, Linda; Anderson, Janet; Harris, Ruth; Conolly, Anna; Kent, Bridie; Maben, Jill

doi:10.1111/jan.15236

Cited by 17 publications

(19 citation statements)

References 8 publications

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“…Recent work has also highlighted how nurses and midwives did not always feel safe to speak out about shortages of equipment or of staff, with some being told to stop speaking to the media (Conolly et al, 2022). Others have argued that the nursing voice nationally and internationally was 'on mute' and that TA B L E 3 Percentage of respondents citing each theme by sector where working organizations and governments were deaf to nurses' experiences and to the issues raised (Rasmussen et al, 2022).…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

The impact of COVID‐19 on nurses (ICON) survey: Nurses' accounts of what would have helped to improve their working lives

Ball

Anstee

Couper

et al. 2022

Journal of Advanced Nursing

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Aims To use nurses' descriptions of what would have improved their working lives during the first peak of the COVID‐19 pandemic in the UK. Design Analysis of free‐text responses from a cross‐sectional survey of the UK nursing and midwifery workforce. Methods Between 2 and 14 April 2020, 3299 nurses and midwives completed an online survey, as part of the ‘Impact of COVID‐19 on Nurses’ (ICON) study. 2205 (67%) gave answers to a question asking for the top three things that the government or their employer could do to improve their working lives. Each participants' response was coded using thematic and content analysis. Multiple response analysis quantified the frequency of different issues and themes and examined variation by employer. Results Most (77%) were employed by the National Health Service (77%) and worked at staff or senior staff nurse levels (55%). 5938 codable responses were generated. Personal protective equipment/staff safety (60.0%), support to workforce (28.6%) and better communication (21.9%) were the most cited themes. Within ‘personal protective equipment’, responses focussed most on available supply. Only 2.8% stated that nothing further could be done. Patterns were similar in both NHS and non‐NHS settings. Conclusions The analysis provided valuable insight into key changes required to improve the work lives of nurses during a pandemic. Urgent improvements in provision and quality of personal protective equipment were needed for the safety of both workforce and patients. Impact Failure to meet nurses needs to be safe at work appears to have damaged morale in this vital workforce. We identified key strategies that, if implemented by the Government and employers, could have improved the working lives of the nursing and midwifery workforce during the early stages of the COVID‐19 pandemic and could prevent the pandemic from having a longer‐term negative impact on the retention of this vital workforce. Patient or Public Contribution No Patient or Public Contribution, due to the COVID‐19 Pandemic, urgency of the work and the target population being health and social care staff.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

The impact of COVID‐19 on nurses (ICON) survey: Nurses' accounts of what would have helped to improve their working lives

Ball

Anstee

Couper

et al. 2022

Journal of Advanced Nursing

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“…Another explanation might be that, during the COVID‐19 outbreak, nurses felt the need to compensate for the absence of family by giving even more attention to the patient. During the pandemic, nurses had exceptional high work pressure and even though their own well‐being was affected, nurses took multiple roles including caring for distressed patients and their families (Rasmussen et al, 2022 ). This compensation by nurses could be another explanation for why no differences in patient outcomes were observed in this study.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Impact of family visit restrictions due to COVID‐19 policy on patient outcomes: A cohort study

Bloemberg

Musters

Wal-Huisman

et al. 2022

Journal of Advanced Nursing

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Aim To investigate the impact of family visit restrictions during the COVID‐19 pandemic on deliriums, falls, pneumonia, pressure ulcers and readmissions among surgical inpatients with gastrointestinal (oncologic) diseases. Design Cohort study. Methods This study was conducted among adult inpatients undergoing gastrointestinal surgery in two academic hospitals. During the COVID‐19 outbreak in 2020, over a 10‐week period, one cohort was subjected to family visit restrictions. Per patient, one person per day was allowed to visit for a maximum of 30 min. This cohort was compared with another cohort in which patients were not subjected to such restrictions during a 10‐week period in 2019. Logistic regression analyses were used to investigate the impact of the restrictions on deliriums, falls, pneumonia, pressure ulcers and readmissions. Results In total, 287 patients were included in the 2020 cohort and 243 in the 2019 cohort. No differences were observed in the cohorts with respect to baseline characteristics. Logistic regression analyses showed no significant differences in deliriums, falls, pneumonia, pressure ulcers and readmissions between the cohorts. Conclusion We cautiously conclude that the family visit restrictions during the COVID‐19 pandemic did not contribute to deliriums, falls, pneumonia, pressure ulcers or readmissions in surgical patients with gastrointestinal (oncologic) diseases. Impact COVID‐19 influenced family‐centred care due to family visit restrictions. Nurses need to continue monitoring outcomes known to be sensitive to family‐centred care to gain insight into the effects of visit restrictions and share the results in order to include nurses' perspectives in COVID‐19‐decision‐making. Re‐implementing of family visit restrictions should be carefully considered in policy‐making.

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“…Nurses have unique health-care expertise, and it is vital that they have a voice not only in high-level decision-making about the response and planning for the COVID-19 pandemic but also in future health crises. 4 Nurse leaders need to be adaptive and strategic while demonstrating concern regarding the well-being of the nursing workforce. 41 …”

Section: The Emergence Of Visible Nurse Leadershipmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…COVID-19 has done a great deal to globally highlight the indispensable role played by nurses within the health-care system and has served to assist to address the invisibility of nurses, despite their limited voice in the national and regional responses to the COVID-19 pandemic. 4 Nurses have always been the backbone of the workforce, doing phenomenal and unbelievable work daily as they save lives, prevent complications, and prevent suffering, often unnoticed. 1 Nurses’ stories from all corners of the world need to be written and exposed to the world because nurses have a plethora of wisdom to get out there.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Out of Chaos Leaders Emerged

Brysiewicz

Chipps

2023

Nursing Clinics of North America

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We're on mute! Exclusion of nurses' voices in national decisions and responses to COVID‐19: An international perspective

Cited by 17 publications

References 8 publications

The impact of COVID‐19 on nurses (ICON) survey: Nurses' accounts of what would have helped to improve their working lives

The impact of COVID‐19 on nurses (ICON) survey: Nurses' accounts of what would have helped to improve their working lives

Impact of family visit restrictions due to COVID‐19 policy on patient outcomes: A cohort study

Out of Chaos Leaders Emerged

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