Examining the stories of nurses working in fighting the Covid-19 pandemic: A qualitative descriptive study
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.7077727Keywords:
COVID-19, narration, nurse, pandemics, qualitative researchAbstract
Aim: It is known the most psychologically affected group among healthcare professionals working with COVID-19 patients is nurses. In this study, it is aimed to examine the subjective experiences of nurses who worked voluntarily in COVID-19 services at the beginning of the pandemic.
Materials and Methods: The research was carried out using the narrative technique, the descriptive qualitative research methods. The data were collected with the "Nurse Introductory Information Form" and "Semi-structured Questionnaire for the Story of Being a Nurse in Fighting the Pandemic". Data were analyzed using the Story Evaluation Scale.
Results: Seven nurses between the ages of 23-36, working in three different hospitals, participated in the study. Nurses stated they voluntarily care for patients between two weeks-17 months with the ethical values of benefit, respect for the individual, equality-justice, feelings of love, compassion, mercy. Emotional expressions in nurses' stories were determined as 'sadness (n=3), remorse, gratitude, pride (n=2), fear (n=4), anxiety (n=2), panic, worry, uneasiness, satisfaction, inadequacy’. Nurses used the metaphors of 'Motherhood, Heroism, Life Risk, Bomb Squad, Being a Trench on the Front, Warrior, Going to Fire' for their fight against COVID-19. Nurses reported that they experienced problems such as sweating, shortness of breath, limitation of communication, difficulty in care, decreased water intake while working with protective equipment. It has been reported family and peer support, team solidarity, belief in fulfilling sacred duty, suggestion, patience facilitate coping.
Conclusions: It is necessary to increase the psychological resilience of nurses and to defend their rights in the political arena.
References
Galehdar N, Kamran A, Toulabi T, Heydari H. Exploring nurses’ experiences of psychological distress during care of patients with COVID-19: a qualitative study. BMC Psychiatry. 2020;20(1):489-498. https://doi.org/10.1186/s12912-020-00516-9
Çevirme A, Kurt A. COVID-19 Pandemisi ve Hemşirelik Mesleğine Yansımaları. Avrasya Sosyal ve Ekonomi Araştırmaları Dergisi. 2020;7(5):46-52.
Turale S, Meechamnan C, Kunaviktikul W. Challenging times: ethics, nursing and the COVID‐19 pandemic. Int Nurs Rev. 2020;67(2):164-167. https://doi.org/10.1111/inr.12598
Zerbini G, Ebigbo A, Reicherts P, Kunz M, Messman H. Psychosocial burden of healthcare professionals in times of COVID-19- a survey conducted at the University Hospital Augsburg. Ger Med Sci. 2020; 18(05):1-9. https://doi.org/10.3205/000281
Sun N, Wei L, Shi S, Jiao D, Song R, Ma L. et al. A qualitative study on the psychological experience of caregivers of COVID-19 patients. Am J Infect Control. 2020;48(6):592-598. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ajic.2020.03.018
Joo JY, Liu MF. Nurses’ barriers to caring for patients with COVID‐19: a qualitative systematic review. Int Nurs Rev. 2021;68(2):202-213. https://doi.org/10.1111/inr.12648
Salari N, Khazaie H, Hosseinian-Far A, Khaledi-Paveh B, Kazeminia M, Mohammadi M. et al. The prevalence of stress, anxiety and depression within front-line healthcare workers caring for COVID-19 patients: a systematic review and meta-regression. Hum Resour Health. 2020;18(1):1-14. https://doi.org/10.1186/s12960-020-00544-1
Paterson C, Gobel B, Gosselin T, Haylock PJ, Papadopoulou C, Slusser K. et al. Oncology nursing during a pandemic: critical reflections in the context of COVID-19. Semin Oncol Nurs. 2020;36(3):1-10. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.soncn.2020.151028
Lai J, Ma S, Wang Y, Cai Z, Hu J, Wei N. et al. Factors associated with mental health outcomes among health care workers exposed to coronavirus disease 2019. JAMA Netw Open. 2020;3(3):1-12. doi: 10.1001/jamanetworkopen.2020.3976
Arnetz JE, Goetz CM, Arnetz BB, Arble E. Nurse reports of stressful situations during the COVID-19 pandemic: qualitative analysis of survey responses. Int J Environ Res Public Health. 2020;17(21):1-12. https://doi.org/10.3390/ijerph17218126
XiZhang WR, Wang K, Yin L, Zhao WF, Xue Q, Peng M et al. Mental health and psychosocial problems of medical health workers during the COVID-19 epidemic in China. Psychother Psychosom. 2020; 89(4):242-250. https://doi.org/10.1159/000507639
Aksoy YE, Koçak V. Psychological effects of nurses and midwives due to COVID-19 outbreak: The case of Turkey. Arch Psychiatr Nurs. 2020;34(5):427-433. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.apnu.2020.07.011
Akkuş Y, Karacan Y, Güney R, Kurt B. Experiences of nurses working with COVID‐19 patients: A qualitative study. J Clin Nurs. 00: 1–15. https://doi.org/10.1111/jocn.15979
Lasalvia A, Bonetto C, Porru S, Carta A, Tardivo S, Bovo C et al. Psychological impact of COVID-19 pandemic on healthcare workers in a highly burdened area of north-east Italy. Epidemiol Psychiatr Sci. 2021;30, e1, 1–13. https://doi.org/10.1017/S2045796020001158
Tenny S, Brannan GD, Brannan JM, Sharts-Hopko NC. Qualitative Study. [Internet] Treasure Island (FL): StatPearls Publishing; 2017 Dec [cited 2021 Sep]. Available from: https://europepmc.org/article/NBK/nbk470395
Sönmez V, Alacapınar FG. Örneklendirilmiş Bilimsel Araştırma Yöntemleri (5. Ed.). Ankara: Anı Puplishing; 2017. p 80-100.
Kamal SSLA. Research paradigm and the philosophical foundations of a qualitative study. PEOPLE: International Journal of Social Sciences. 2019;4(3):1386-1394. https://dx.doi.org/10.20319/pijss.2019.43.13861394
O’Brien BC, Harris IB, Beckman TJ, Reed DA, Cook DA. Standards for Reporting Qualitative Research.
Acad Med. 2014;89(9):1245-1251. Doi:10.1097/ACM.0000000000000388
Dös İ. Aday Öğretmenlerin Müfettişlik Kavramına İlişkin Metafor Algıları. Gaziantep University Journal of Social Sciences. 2010;9(3):607-629.
Küçük S, Demir K, Uludaşdemir D. Determination of the metaphors about nurse perception of 7-17 age hospitalized children and adolescents. Journal of Education and Research in Nursing. 2020;17(1):40-45.
XiZhang Q, Wang X, Cai C. The experience of frontline nurses four months after COVID-19 rescue task in China: A qualitative study.
Arch Psychiatr Nurs. 2021; 35 (4):363-358. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.apnu.2021.05.007
Lie I, Stafseth S, Skogstad L, Hovland IS, Hovde H, Ekeberg Ø, et al. Healthcare professionals in COVID-19-intensive care units in Norway: preparedness and working conditions: a cohort study. BMJ open. 2021;11(10):1-11. http://dx.doi.org/10.1136/bmjopen-2021-049135
Chew NW, Lee GK, Tan BY, Jing M, Goh Y, Ngiam NJ et al. A multinational, multicentre study on the psychological outcomes and associated physical symptoms amongst healthcare workers during COVID-19 outbreak. Brain Behav Immun. 2020; 88:559-565. https://doi.org/10.1111/joim.12752
Kackin O, Ciydem E, Aci OS, Kutlu FY. Experiences and psychosocial problems of nurses caring for patients diagnosed with COVID-19 in Turkey: A qualitative study. Int J Soc Psychiatry. 2021;67(2):158-167. https://doi.org/10.1177/0020764020942788
Jia Y, Chen O, Xiao Z, Xiao J, Bian J, Jia H. Nurses’ ethical challenges caring for people with COVID-19: a qualitative study. Nurs Ethics. 2021;28(1):33-45. https://doi.org/10.1177/0969733020944453
Torrente M, Sousa PA, Sánchez-Ramos A, Pimentao J, Royuela A, Franco F, et al. To burn-out or not to burn-out: a cross-sectional study in healthcare professionals in Spain during COVID-19 pandemic. BMJ open. 2021;11(2):1-12. http://dx.doi.org/10.1136/bmjopen-2020-044945
Gordon JM, Magbee T, Yoder LH. The Eexperiences of critical care nurses caring for patients with COVID-19 during the 2020 pandemic: A qualitative study. Appl Nurs Res. 2021; 59: 151418:1-7. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.apnr.2021.151418
Ünver S, Yeniğün SC. COVID-19 fear level of surgical nurses working in pandemic and surgical units. J Perianesth Nurs. 2021;36(6):711-716. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jopan.2021.04.014
Chau JPC, Lo SHS, Saran R, Leung CHY, Lam SKY, Thompson DR. Nurses’ experiences of caring for people with COVID-19 in Hong Kong: a qualitative enquiry. BMJ Open. 2021;11(8):1-9. http://dx.doi.org/10.1136/bmjopen-2021-052683
Khatatbeh M, Alhalaiqa F, Khasawneh A, Al-Tammemi AAB, Khatatbeh H, Alhassoun S, et al. The experiences of nurses and physicians caring for COVID-19 patients: findings from an exploratory phenomenological study in a high case-load country. Int J Environ Res Public Health. 2021;18(17): 1-17. https://doi.org/10.3390/ijerph18179002
Karimi Z, Fereidouni Z, Behnammoghadam M, Alimohammadi N, Mousavizadeh A, Salehi T et al. The lived experience of nurses caring for patients with COVID-19 in Iran: a phenomenological study. Risk Manag Healthc Policy. 2020;13:1271-1278. https://doi.org/10.2147/RMHP,S258785
Sarnkhaowkhom C, Promkanya A, Pomisrikeaw S, Ritthapanya N. “Novice nurse and novel coronavirus” experiences of novice nurses caring for patients diagnosed with COVID-19 in Thailand. Nursing Open. 2021; 00:1–12. https://doi.org/10.1002/nop2.996
Widiasih R, Ermiati Emaliyawati E, Hendrawati S, Susanti RD, Sutini T, Sari CWM. Nurses’ actions to protect their families from COVID-19: A descriptive qualitative study. Glob Qual Nurs Res. 2021; 8:1-8. https://doi.org/10.1177/23333936211014851
Downloads
Published
How to Cite
Issue
Section
License
Copyright (c) 2022 Journal of Social and Analytical Health
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International License.
JSOAH is licensed under a 