Nursing Perspectives on the Impacts of COVID-19

Psychosocial consequences of the COVID-19 pandemic and its effects on professional resilience and self-care on nurses: an example of Ankara

The COVID-19 pandemic has significantly impacted nurses, who are frontline care providers, with high infection risk, disease transmission to relatives, and adverse psychosocial effects. This descriptive and correlational study examines the psychosocial impact of COVID-19 on 224 nurses, focusing on their professional resilience and self-care during active care of COVID-19 patients from December 2022 to August 2023. Data was collected through demographic information forms, questionnaires, and scales. Structural equation modeling was used for the relational dimension of the study. The mean score of the nurses' COVID-19 Pandemic Psychosocial Impact Scale was 85.43 (SD = 22.08), while the Skovholt Practitioner Professional Resiliency and Self-Care Inventory had a mean score of 135.64 (SD = 19.73). A statistically significant low-level negative relationship between the scale scores (r = -0.220). The COVID-19 pandemic's psychosocial impact scores significantly impact personal vitality and stress, indicating a direct negative effect on these factors, according to structural equation modeling results.

Nordic nurses' areas of research during and related to the COVID-19 pandemic. A scoping review with recommendations for evidence-based practice

BACKGROUND

The knowledge of the landscape of COVID-19 research performed by nurses in hospitals and health services is scarce. It is important to identify, map and share knowledge and thus provide a better understanding of the important research performed by nurses.

AIMS

To provide a comprehensive overview of Nordic nurses' focus areas of research during and related to the COVID-19 pandemic and to extract knowledge on recommendations for future evidence-based practice.

METHODS

The electronic databases of MEDLINE (via PubMed), CINAHL (via EBSCO) and Scopus (via Elsevier) were searched for studies describing all areas of nursing during and related to the COVID-19 pandemic conducted in the Nordic countries. Studies conducted by a nurse as the first or last author and published from March 2020 to March 2022 were included in the scoping review. The protocol for the review is registered at Open Science Framework (https://osf.io/f8kuq).

RESULTS

Of 8412 studies found in the comprehensive search, 119 studies met the inclusion criteria. The studies were written by nurses from Denmark (42%), Sweden (31%), Norway (20%), Finland (6%) and Iceland (1%). The majority of studies (39%) covered patients' and relatives' experiences of visiting restrictions and social distancing and relatives' communications with healthcare professionals. Twenty-six per cent of included studies covered healthcare professionals' experiences of caring for patients infected with COVID-19, working during the pandemic and suffering from the consequences of both.

LINKING EVIDENCE TO ACTION

The recommendations of evidence-based practice for future pandemics show that social distancing for disease prevention must be provided while considering the human consequences of social distancing. Special training is also recommended for healthcare professionals caring for COVID-19 patients accompanied by psychosocial support for their mental well-being. Additionally, virtual contact is an important supplement to personal treatment and face-to-face contact during social restrictions.

Nursing workforce plays a significant role in reducing COVID-19 deaths worldwide: A cross-sectional analysis of data from 178 countries

Worldwide, the role of nursing workforce in reducing COVID-19 case fatality ratio (CFR) is analyzed with scatter plots, Pearson's r and nonparametric, partial correlation and multiple linear regression models. The potential confounders, median age, health expenditure, physician density, and urbanization were incorporated for calculating the independent role of nursing workforce in protecting against COVID-19 CFR. The study findings suggested that (1) the nursing workforce inversely and significantly correlates with COVID-19 CFR; (2) this relationship remained independent of the confounding effects of each individual confounder or their combination; (3) Nursing workforce was the only variable identified as a significant contributor for reducing COVID-19 CFR, when it was incorporated into stepwise regression model with health expenditure, median age, physician density, and urbanization for analyzing their individual predicting effects on COVID-19 CFR. A strong message for the health authorities is that, although in shortage, nursing workforce showed their significant role in reducing COVID-19 deaths worldwide. This study highlights that the role of nursing workforce should be incorporated into population health research.

The relationship between perception of COVID-19, fear of COVID-19 and self-care management in individuals with chronic diseases during the pandemic process in Turkey

AIMS

To determine the relationship between perception of COVID-19, fear of COVID-19 and self-care management in individuals with chronic diseases during the pandemic process.

BACKGROUND

Individuals with chronic diseases are a sensitive group during the COVID-19 pandemic process; it is thought that self-care management may be adversely affected as a result of their more intense exposure to the psychological, physiological and economic effects of the pandemic. In the literature, there is no study examining the effect of perception of COVID-19 and fear of COVID-19 on self-care management in individuals with chronic diseases.

DESIGN

Descriptive study.

METHODS

The study was conducted with 322 individuals who applied to the internal medicine outpatient clinics of a university's Health Practice and Research Center, met the inclusion criteria, agreed to participate in the study and had a chronic disease. Questionnaire form, Perception of COVID-19 Scale (P-COVID-19), The Fear of COVID-19 Scale (FCV-19S) and Self-Care Management Process in Chronic Illness Scale (SCMP-G) were used to collect data. STROBE checklist was used to report the present study.

RESULTS

In the study, it can be stated that individuals with chronic diseases had a moderate to the high perception of contagiousness and dangerousness of COVID-19, they had a moderate-high level of fear of COVID-19 and their self-care care management was above moderate level. There was a significant positive correlation between P-COVID-19, FCV-19S and SCMP-G in the study.

CONCLUSIONS

It was found that the perception of COVID-19 contagiousness and the fear of COVID-19 had a positive effect on the self-care management of individuals with chronic diseases.

RELEVANCE TO CLINICAL PRACTICE

Determining the level of COVID-19 perception and fear of COVID-19 and their effects on the life of the individual, and evaluating self-care management during the difficult pandemic process will increase the success in the holistic nursing care and management of chronic diseases.

The long-term impact of COVID-19 on nursing: An e-panel discussion from the International Network for Child and Family Centred Care

AIM

To explore the International Network for Child and Family Centred Care (INCFCC) members' experiences and views on the long-term impact of COVID-19 on the nursing workforce.

BACKGROUND

On the 11 March 2020, the World Health Organization declared COVID-19 a global pandemic. While some countries adopted a herd immunity approach, others imposed stricter measures to reduce the transmission of the virus. Hospitals in some countries faced an avalanche of extremely sick admissions, whereas others experienced an early surge in cases or were able to control the spread.

DESIGN

Discursive paper.

METHODS

A web-based survey was e-mailed to 63 INCFCC members from 28 March to 30 April 2022, as an invitation to share their experience concerning the long-term impact of COVID-19 on their role as a nurse educator, clinician or researcher.

RESULTS

Sixteen members responded, and the responses were grouped under the themes stress and anxiety, safe staffing and pay, doing things differently, impact on research, impact on teaching and learning, impact on clinical practice, nursing made visible and lessons for the future.

CONCLUSION

The INCFCC members provided their views and highlighted the impact on their role in nursing education, administration, research and/or practice. This discussion of international perspectives on the similarities and differences imposed by COVID-19 found that the impact was wide-ranging and prolonged. The overarching theme revealed the resilience of the participating members in the face of COVID-19.

RELEVANCE TO CLINICAL PRACTICE

This study highlights the importance of all areas of nursing, be it in academia or in clinical practice, to work together to learn from the present and to plan for the future. Future work should focus on supporting organizational and personal resiliency and effective interventions to support the nursing workforce both during a disaster and in the recovery phase. Nursing workforce resilience in the face of COVID-19.

The public image of nursing during the COVID-19 pandemic: A cross-sectional study

OBJECTIVE

This study was conducted to assess the public image of the nursing profession during the COVID-19 pandemic.

BACKGROUND

Before the COVID-19 pandemic, the public was not as aware of the significance and indispensability of nursing. However, with the pandemic, the importance of nursing has gained prominence on national and international platforms.

METHODS

This was a cross-sectional study. The study sample consisted of participants aged 18 and over who were Turkish speakers from seven regions of Turkey. Data were collected between May and July 2021 using an online survey, Image Scale for the Nursing Profession (ISNP), and Personal Information Form.

RESULTS

Five hundred and two individuals participated in the study. The average ISNP scores of the participants were 150.09 ± 9.62. It was found that participants who had a healthcare-related occupation and were satisfied with the nursing care they received in the hospital had statistically higher ISNP total scores (p = 0.006, p = 0.000), respectively. The study revealed that the value, respect, and trust given to nurses increased with the COVID-19 pandemic.

CONCLUSION

The results suggest a notable enhancement in the public's view of the nursing profession amid the COVID-19 pandemic.

IMPLICATIONS FOR NURSING AND HEALTH POLICIES

Developing promotional strategies for the nursing profession is crucial to enhance the public perception of the nursing profession. These strategies can help the public better understand and appreciate the nursing profession and the role of nurses in society. This requires the support of nurses, nursing educators, nurse managers, and policymakers.

Hospital challenges and managerial approaches to combat COVID-19 outbreak: a qualitative study in southeastern Iran

BACKGROUND

During the covid-19 pandemic, hospitals have faced several challenges, so they need to identify and address effective management strategies to cope with these challenges that enhance their current knowledge to deal with similar challenges in the future. This study aimed to identify managerial strategies for dealing with Covid-19 pandemic challenges at a hospital in southeastern Iran.

METHODS

This qualitative content analysis study used purposive sampling to select eight managers, three nurses, and one worker from Shahid Bahonar Hospital. In this study, semi-structured interviews were used to collect data and Lundman and Graneheim's approach was used to analyze them.

RESULTS

Three hundred fifty codes remained after constant comparison, compression, and merging. The results demonstrated one theme "Managerial reengineering in the healthcare system during the Covid-19 crisis", two main categories, seven subcategories and, 19 sub- subcategories. The first main category was "The difficulty of managing challenges," including "Insufficient resources and physical space", "Socio-organizational challenges" and, "Incompetence and unpreparedness of managers." The second main category was "Reforming the management duties." This category included "Planning and decision-making," "Organization," "Leadership and motivation," and "Monitoring and control."

CONCLUSIONS

Hospitals and managers were less prepared to cope with the Covid-19 crisis challenges due to health system organizations' less attention to biological crises. Healthcare organizations can carefully evaluate these challenges, and the strategies managers adopt to deal with these problems. They also can identify the strategies' strengths and weaknesses and propose more effective strategies. As a result, healthcare organizations will be better prepared for similar crises.

Structural Equation Modelling of Professional Values and Competency of Nurses During the COVID-19 Pandemic

Background

The COVID-19 pandemic is a global health crisis that affected nurses’ professional values and competence.

Aim

Our study examined the relationship between nurses’ professional values and competence in Saudi Arabia during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Methods

This study used a descriptive cross-sectional design with 748 nurses from Saudi Arabia. Two self-report instruments were used to collect data. Structural equation modelling was conducted to analyse the data.

Findings

The emerging model showed acceptable model fit indices. Two dimensions of nurse professional values significantly affected professional competence: professionalism and activism. Professionalism significantly affected the other four facets (e.g., caring, activism, trust, and justice) of nurse professional values. The dimension of caring had a strong, direct effect on activism. Justice had a moderate, direct impact on trust, while activism had a weak, direct impact on trust. Professionalism and caring had strong, indirect effects on professional competence by mediating the dimension of activism.

Discussion

The study’s findings highlight the need for strategies to evaluate and strengthen the various areas of professional values to foster professional competence among nurses. Moreover, nurse administrators should encourage nurses to participate in continuing nursing education programs or provide in-service educational training to promote professional values and competence.

Conclusion

This study provides a structural model of the interaction between nurses’ professional values and competence during the pandemic. Nurse administrators can leverage the presented model to develop policies and strategies to evaluate and strengthen nurses’ professional values and competence.

The impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on primary care physicians and nurses in Nova Scotia: a qualitative exploratory study

BACKGROUND

The COVID-19 pandemic has brought immense disruption worldwide, dramatically altering the ways we live, work and learn on a day-to-day basis; however, few studies have investigated this from the perspective of primary care providers. In this study, we sought to explore the experiences of primary care providers in the province of Nova Scotia, with the intention of understanding the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on primary care providers' ability to provide care, their information pathways, and the personal and professional impact of the pandemic.

METHODS

We conducted an exploratory qualitative research study involving semistructured interviews conducted via Zoom videoconferencing or telephone with primary care providers (physicians, nurse practitioners and family practice nurses) who self-identified as working in primary health care in Nova Scotia from June 2020 to April 2021. We performed a thematic analysis involving coding and classifying data according to themes. Emergent themes were then interpreted by seeking commonalties, divergence, relationships and overarching patterns in the data.

RESULTS

Twenty-four primary care providers were interviewed. Subsequent analysis identified 4 interrelated themes within the data: disruption to work-life balance, disruptions to "non-COVID-19" patient care, impact of provincial and centralized policies, and filtering and processing an influx of information.

INTERPRETATION

Our findings showed that managing a crisis of this magnitude requires coordination and new ways of working, balancing professional and personal life, and adapting to already implemented changes (i.e., virtual care). A specific primary care pandemic response plan is essential to mitigate the impact of future health care crises.

Relationship Between Nurses' Compassion Level and Emotional Intelligence During the COVID-19 Pandemic: Case of City Hospitals

Purpose: The purpose of this descriptive study is to determine the relationship between nurses' compassion level and emotional intelligence during the COVID-19 pandemic. Methods: A cross-sectional design was used to collect data from a sample of 218 nurses who volunteered to participate. Data were collected using the descriptive information form, the compassion scale (CS), and the revised Schutte emotional intelligence scale (RSEIS). Findings: The nurses' total CS score was 97.51 ± 1, and their total RSEIS score was 152.1 ± 14.8. In our study, a moderate, positive, and significant relationship was found between nurses' compassion level and emotional intelligence levels. Conclusions: It was determined that nurses within the scope of the study had a high level of compassion and a medium-high level of emotional intelligence during the COVID-19 pandemic process. Initiatives should be planned to develop emotional intelligence, which helps to minimize the negative effects of the pandemic on nurses and prevent negative emotions.

Nurses as the leading fighters during the COVID-19 pandemic: Self-transcendence

Background

The Covid 19 pandemic has led to and continues to pose challenges for healthcare systems globally, especially in intensive care units. This research was conducted to examine the self-transcendence of the leading fighters, intensive care nurses, during the Covid 19 pandemic.

Methods

The descriptive phenomenological research method was used in the study. The research was carried out between June and December 2020 with the nurses who care for Covid 19 patients in the Covid 19 intensive care service in different provinces of Turkey. The research was completed with 25 participants. A semi-structured interview form prepared based on the Theory of Self-Transcendence (vulnerability, self-transcendence, and well-being) and based on the literature was used to collect data.

Ethical considerations

Ethical requirements were respected in every phase of the research process. Results: The nurses in the study were found to experience vulnerability due to “administrative loneliness,” “inability to give care,” “fear of being a source of infection,” and “loneliness of patients.”

Conclusions

It has been found that “improvement in nursing roles and skills,” “being proud for oneself and the team,” “understanding the value of life,” and “feeling like a superhero due to the responsibilities shouldered during the pandemic” support nurses’ self-transcendence, which contributes to physical and mental well-being.

Exploration of Factors Influencing Nurses’ Preparedness and Response to the COVID-19 Outbreak

Introduction and Objective

Nurses as the core of the health care workforce affect an organization's preparedness and response. This study explores the factors and unique determinants influencing nurses’ preparedness and response to the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) outbreak in Singapore.

Methods

This qualitative phenomenological study utilized purposive sampling and in-depth interviews with 10 registered nurses and two enrolled nurses who had worked or were still working in an infectious disease (ID) hospital during the COVID-19 outbreak at the point of recruitment. The data were collected from September 2020 to December 2020.

Results

(1) Before the outbreak: Factors such as knowledge, skills, and experiences that enhanced nurses’ adaptability and response through training and exposure prior to the outbreak influenced preparedness. In addition, the importance of nurses’ knowing their purpose and the role of their institute during the outbreak also influenced preparedness. (2) The COVID-19 phase: Factors such as the novelty of the disease, communication, load and demand, and coping mechanisms affected participants’ working response to the outbreak. (3) Learning and looking forth: Lessons learnt to enhance preparedness and response to future outbreaks, and positive sentiments as part of the nation's effort to combat the disease.

Conclusion

Ground nurses should be actively involved in outbreak planning to gain a better view of their responsibilities and unpredictable events that may occur. A transparent and bidirectional communication among management and nurses is crucial amidst rapid changes in an outbreak to strike a balance between the needs of nurses and leadership and to enhance nurses’ resilience throughout this challenging journey.

Qualitative study of UK health professionals' experiences of working at the point of care during the COVID-19 pandemic

OBJECTIVES

To develop an understanding of health professionals' experiences of working at the point of care during the COVID-19 pandemic, the impact on their health and well-being and their support needs.

DESIGN

A qualitative study using semistructured interviews. Data were analysed using framework analysis.

SETTING

One large National Health Service integrated care trust.

PARTICIPANTS

A purposive sample of 19 qualified health professionals (doctors, nurses or allied health professionals), working with patients with COVID-19 admitted to the hospitals between March and May 2020 were eligible to take part.

RESULTS

Eight major categories were identified: (1) Working in a 'war zone', (2) 'Going into a war zone without a weapon', (3) 'Patients come first', (4) Impact of COVID-19, (5) Leadership and management, (6) Support systems, (7) Health professionals' support needs, and (8) Camaraderie and pride. Health professionals reported increased levels of stress, anxiety and a lack of sleep. They prioritised their patients' needs over their own and felt a professional obligation to be at work. A key finding was the reported camaraderie among the health professionals where they felt that they were 'fighting this war together'.

CONCLUSIONS

This study provides a valuable insight into the experiences of some of the frontline health professionals working in a large London-based hospital trust during the first COVID-19 peak. Findings from this study could be used to inform how managers, leaders and organisations can better support their health professional staff during the current pandemic and beyond.

Exhausted and Burned Out: COVID-19 Emerging Impacts Threaten the Health of the Pediatric Advanced Practice Registered Nursing Workforce

INTRODUCTION

The purpose of this study was to describe the holistic impacts of COVID-19 on pediatric advanced practice registered nurses (APRNs).

METHOD

AA convenience sample of APRNs affiliated with the National Association of Pediatric Nurse Practitioners participated in this cross-sectional descriptive study. An investigator-developed survey explored multifocal, holistic impacts of COVID-19.

RESULTS

A total of 886 participants were provided the survey, with 796 (90%) completing the entire survey. Respondents indicated adverse impacts across personal, clinical, educational, and research foci. Among the most alarming findings, 34% indicated moderate or extreme concern for feeling professionally burned out, 25% feeling nervous or anxious, and 15% feeling depressed or hopeless.

DISCUSSION

The pediatricAPRN workforce pipeline is at significant risk for provider burnout and compromised mental health. Acknowledgment of pandemic-related trauma on families, children and APRNs is essential. Sustained intentional efforts to cultivate holistic wellness are critically emergent.