Experiences of front-line nurses caring for patients with COVID-19 in Bangladesh: A qualitative study

Coping strategies adopted by frontline nurses in dealing with COVID-19 patients in a developing country during the pandemic: A qualitative study

AIM

This study aimed to explore the coping strategies adopted by frontline nurses in dealing with COVID-19 patients during the pandemic in Bangladesh.

DESIGN

A qualitative descriptive study.

METHODS

Purposive sampling was used to recruit seventeen frontline nurses from three COVID-19-specific hospitals in Dhaka City. In-depth online interviews and semi-structured questionnaires were used to collect data through the Google Meet platform. Interview sessions audio-video were recorded, interpreted, analysed, verbatim transcribed and quotes of the participants were verified by member checking. Thematic analysis was used in this research. The study's reporting guidelines were based on the consolidated criteria for reporting qualitative research.

RESULTS

Seven themes were identified after careful data analysis: (i) A positive attitude in dealing with challenging situation, (ii) Intimate partner's influence, (iii) Self-emotional regulation, (iv) The tendency to avoid negativity, (v) Motivated by professional obligations, (vi) Religious influence, (vii) Recreational activities.

NO PATIENT OR PUBLIC CONTRIBUTION

This study explored various coping strategies employed by frontline nurses in caring for COVID-19 patients. No patient or public contribution was investigated.

"The whole sky has broken down on me. I might die alone": A qualitative study on the lived experiences of COVID-19 positive frontline workers in Bangladesh

Many countries, including Bangladesh, have conducted research on the mental health of frontline workers and their challenges in adjusting to their new workplaces. However, the authors are unaware of any studies on their real-life experiences as COVID-19-positive patients in Bangladesh. This study intends to investigate the lived experiences of Bangladeshi frontline workers who were isolated as a result of the COVID-19 infection and tested positive for the virus. We used a qualitative methodology and a semi-structured interview guide to conduct ten interviews between July 26 and August 12, 2020. The participants were recruited via a social media campaign and purposive sampling. All interviews were conducted via telephone and online and were transcribed and analyzed using Colaizzi's phenomenological method. The study does, however, identify four primary themes and 13 supporting themes, including (1) experience in a new working environment (subthemes: workload and adaptation, maintaining health protocol and social distance, and the fear of infection), (2) diagnosis (subthemes: the origin of infection, physiological problems, experiences at the diagnosis center), (3) recovery days (subthemes: earlier reactions, experiences in isolation, coping mechanisms), and (4) post-COVID-19 (subthemes: excitement, fear, and confusion; physiological problems; increased religiosity; and changes in philosophy). This study is important for healthcare policymakers because it helps them design healthcare management systems that take Bangladeshi society's social context into account. This study also recommends that long-term behavioral change programs be implemented by national policymakers to lessen societal stigma. At the same time, it suggests that the government should help lessen the barriers to health care services that persons with lower socioeconomic status confront.

Coping strategies that motivated frontline nurses while caring for the COVID-19 patients during the pandemic: A scoping review

BACKGROUND

The world faced a great health crisis during the COVID-19 pandemic. Consequently, the health care providers struggled and faced tremendous difficulties in treating high-load critical patients. This was particularly true in low- and middle-income countries where the work and patient loads are always higher and nurses at the forefront must deal with emergencies while being at high risk of exposure. However, little is known about the survival strategies of frontline nurses as dealt with the pandemic.

OBJECTIVES

This study catalogued the coping strategies of frontline nurses to deal with caring for the COVID-19 patients during the pandemic.

METHODS

The Arksey O'Malley framework was followed to conduct a scoping review. A systematic literature search was conducted using three databases: Google Scholar, Scopus and PubMed; and out of the 192 studies, 12 met the inclusion criteria set for this review study.

RESULTS

A total of 44 strategies were identified that motivated nurses to deal with the COVID-19 situation, and these strategies could be categorized into five main themes: nurses' self-strategies, nurses' strategies at the ethical level, employers' strategies, nursing leaders' strategies and supplementary strategies.

CONCLUSIONS

The findings of this study will provide guidance for health care workers, employers, policymakers, regulators and other stakeholders to adopt and promote different strategies in managing difficult emergency situations in future.

IMPLICATIONS FOR NURSING MANAGEMENT

This study emphasizes the importance of learning how to deal with adversity by health care workers and organizations in an emergency.

Nursing diagnoses in hospitalized patients with COVID-19 in Indonesia

Background

The COVID-19 pandemic has become a global public health issue, and the roles of nurses are very much needed in providing nursing services in the current situation. The enforcement of appropriate nursing diagnoses for patients with COVID-19 is also fundamental in determining proper nursing care to help the patients achieve maximum health.

Objective

This study aimed to describe and analyze nursing diagnoses in patients with COVID-19 treated in the isolation rooms and ICUs.

Methods

This study used a secondary data analysis from hospital medical record data of patients with COVID-19 from early December 2020 to the end of February 2021. Data were selected using a cluster random sampling technique and analyzed using descriptive statistics.

Results

The results showed that the signs and symptoms of the patients with COVID-19 that often appeared were fever, cough, shortness of breath, and decreased consciousness. The common nursing diagnoses in the hospitalized patients with COVID-19 were hyperthermia, ineffective airway clearance, gas exchange disorder, self-care deficit, spontaneous ventilation disorder, spontaneous circulation disorder, knowledge deficit, and shock risk.

Conclusion

This study offers an insight into nursing practices in the hospital setting, which can be used as a basis for nurses to perform complete nursing assessments and nursing diagnoses during the pandemic.