Nurses' Experiences of Caring for Patients with COVID-19: A Qualitative Study

Primary healthcare nurses' experiences in managing chronic diseases during COVID-19 in the North West province

BACKGROUND

 The World Health Organization, stated that the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic not only affected the socioeconomic well-being of millions but also had adverse effects on public health, particularly in the management of chronic diseases at the primary healthcare (PHC) level. What remained unknown was the experiences of professional nurses(PNs) working in PHC regarding this issue.

AIM

 The study aimed to explore and describe the lived experiences of PHC nurses in managing chronic diseases during the COVID-19 pandemic.

SETTING

 The study was conducted in the North West province, South Africa.

METHODS

 A qualitative descriptive phenomenological design was employed to collect and analyse data. Face-to-face interviews were conducted and audio recorded with 16 PNs from five high-volume PHC facilities selected purposively.

RESULTS

 The study's findings reveal four themes: suboptimal care for patients with chronic disease, a lack of resources, mental health challenges experienced by PHC nurses, and stigma and discrimination from both family and community members.

CONCLUSION

 The neglect of PHC and its frontline healthcare staff has impeded the mental health of PHC workers and the management of chronic diseases thus any progress made in reducing the burden of chronic diseases is likely to have regressed during the COVID-19 pandemic.Contribution: Policymakers should prioritise strengthening PHC by implementing integrated disease management policies, ensuring ethical clinical standards, providing supportive supervision, fair resource allocation and capacity building for PHC staff. In addition, addressing stigma and discrimination, and raising awareness among families and communities is crucial for future pandemics to effectively manage both chronic and infectious diseases.

Nurses' Experiences and Perspectives Caring for People With Substance Use Disorder and Their Families: A Qualitative Descriptive Study

Substance use disorder is a public health crisis that is a financial strain to many healthcare systems and communities, but more importantly, it costs lives. Nurses interact with people experiencing substance use disorders and their families in many settings. Nurses can provide insights into the experiences of working with this population. This descriptive qualitative study aimed to examine nurses' experiences and perspectives on caring for people with substance use disorder and their families. After receiving institutional review approval, purposive sampling was used to recruit registered nurses (n = 16) who worked in a variety of settings, and interviews were conducted. Constant comparison analysis was conducted concurrently with data collection until saturation was reached. Code development and refinement was an iterative process. Three themes were generated from the data. Personal Experiences Affect Professional Practice represented participants varied personal experiences and included two subthemes: Reflecting on Personal Experiences and Seeing the Person Beyond the Substance Use Disorder. A second theme is Professional Experiences Affect Professional Practice, which included two subthemes: Professional Experiences are Stressful and Rewarding and Substance Use Disorder Education Increases Confidence. Finally, Stigma Affects Substance Use Disorder Care is the third theme. Future implications range from the individual engaging in self-reflection, to nursing leadership establishing a framework to incorporate reflection and creating a culture that supports and reinforces these activities. The findings of this study support the need for stigma awareness/reduction education starting in undergraduate nursing programmes, throughout practice, with extension to inter-professional groups and the community.

Identity work of public hospital nurses during the COVID-19 pandemic in South Africa

BACKGROUND

 Nurses play a remarkable role in our healthcare system and contribute to the wellbeing of communities at large. During the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic, nurses faced various challenges to provide adequate patient healthcare.

OBJECTIVES

 This study aimed to explore the identity work of public hospital nurses during the COVID-19 pandemic.

METHOD

 The study followed a phenomenological qualitative approach with an interpretive view, employing two sampling methods: purposive and snowball sampling. The sample comprised 11 nurses from a public hospital in the Gauteng province. The data were collected using semi-structured interviews and analysed using thematic analysis.

RESULTS

 The findings revealed that the nurses faced identity demands, which resulted in them experiencing identity tensions. There was also a need for recognition and support; their work served a greater purpose and was meaningful to them. The nurses used different identity work strategies, such as family support, spiritual upliftment and meaningful work to deal with the identity tensions and demands they experienced.

CONCLUSION

 Strategies such as counselling and wellbeing programmes should be implemented to assist nurses in dealing with the physical and psychological effects of working in the health sector during pandemics and epidemics. Hospitals and governments should create healthier working environments by conducting workshops, training and upskilling initiatives, encouraging nurses' inclusion in policymaking and implementation.Contribution: The study provided insight into the challenges nurses encountered during the COVID-19 pandemic, how these challenges affected their nursing identity and roles, and the strategies they used to maintain their sense of self in their work.

Affectation of COVID-19 pandemic on the use and abundance of wild resources in Tabasco, Mexico: A qualitative assessment

Southern Mexico is particularly rich in natural resources, yet unemployment has risen to 8% during the COVID-19 pandemic. The effect of the pandemic on the use and abundance of Tabasco's wild resources was examined through personal surveys. By using Microsoft Forms® with cell phones 1,963 surveys were collected. Cronbach's alpha, Z-value, and chi2 were calculated using the MAXQDA Analytics Pro program. A higher abundance of wild resources before the pandemic than today (57% vs. 11%) was observed. During the pandemic, people referred more to a high use (28%) of resources than to a low use (20%). This caused the low abundance or scarcity of wild products to be greater during the pandemic than before the pandemic (43% vs. 4%). Wild foods and timber were the most used products. The pandemic has produced a greater use of natural resources probably due to the high unemployment rate in rural areas. Future studies of wild products should address the relevant products in the locality and their even sampling. Finding suitable respondents is highly recommended.

Family caregiver experience of caring COVID-19 patients admitted in COVID-19 hospital of a tertiary care hospital in Nepal

BACKGROUND

Informal caregivers played a significant role in caring for COVID-19 patients during hospitalization in Nepal. This study aimed to understand the experiences of family caregivers attending to their relatives in a COVID-19 hospital in Nepal.

METHODS

A descriptive phenomenological approach was adopted to understand the caregiver's experience in supporting their relatives admitted to the COVID-19 hospital of the BP Koirala Institute of Health Sciences (BPKIHS). Thirteen caregivers of COVID-19 positive patients were purposively selected from April to June, 2022. Face-to-face interviews were conducted at a caregiver residential facility using the interview schedule developed by the department for the purpose of data collection after obtaining ethical clearance from the Institutional review committee of BPKIHS. Data were audio recorded and manually analyzed.

RESULTS

Among the 13 caregivers, six were male and seven were female. The findings were categorized into five domains: challenges encountered, changes in physical and mental health, changes in roles and responsibilities, positive experiences, and strategies to ease caregiving tasks. Major challenges included financial burdens, communication problems, stigmatization, Insecurity, substandard accommodation, and visitor restrictions. Caregivers reported negative emotions, unmet physical health needs, and shifts in family and occupational roles. Despite these challenges, caregivers attempted to cope positively and acknowledged the efforts of healthcare personnel and other family members. Suggestions for improving caregiving included providing essential medical and basic services within the hospital, enhancing accommodation facilities, establishing proper communication channels, and allowing visitations.

CONCLUSIONS

Caregivers of COVID-19 patients face significant challenges during the caregiving process. Enhancing hospital services, promoting effective communication, fostering positive attitudes, and ensuring a safe environment can facilitate caregiving tasks.

Through the eyes of nurses: a content analysis of nurses' experiences in caring for COVID-19 patients

BACKGROUND

In the current global climate, the nursing staff has placed a significant emphasis on developing effective self-protection strategies and implementing measures to prevent the transmission of infectious diseases, with a particular focus on the highly communicable COVID-19 virus. Ensuring the safety and well-being of both healthcare providers and patients has made it imperative to incorporate this aspect into healthcare provision.

OBJECTIVE

The study aimed to describe the experiences of nurses in providing care for patients infected with COVID-19.

METHODOLOGY

This qualitative content analysis study, following COREQ guidelines, involved 18 nurses who were taking care of COVID-19 patients at Shahid Mohamadi Hospital, a general hospital in Bandar Abbas, Hormozgan Province. The hospital is affiliated with Hormozgan University of Medical Sciences and the research was conducted in 2022.The sampling method was purposive, and unstructured interviews were used. Data collection continued until data saturation was achieved. Data analysis was performed continuously and concurrently through the collection of data using conventional content analysis methods.

FINDINGS

The qualitative analysis of the data revealed three main themes centered on challenges related to nurses' self-care, patient care, and the healthcare delivery system.

CONCLUSION

Overall, to address the challenges faced by healthcare providers caring for COVID-19 patients, their needs must be prioritized. This includes establishing a prepared healthcare system, implementing strategies to protect their well-being, and learning from their experiences for future disease outbreaks and disasters.