ABSTRACT
Background: Understanding the experiences of ICU patients with COVID-11 helps to provide the unique care activities, improve the quality of care and promote health status, thereby creating a window for mutual understanding between the treatment team and the patients. Objectives: The present study aimed to explore lived experiences of critically ill patients with COVID-11 after discharge from intensive care units of hospitals in Iran. Methods: The present study was qualitative research with a hermeneutic phenomenological approach. Participants were purposefully selected from critically ill patients with COVID-11 who were discharged from the intensive care unit (ICU) and transferred to the general ward. Data were mostly collected through in-depth, semi-structured, face-to-face interviews and, in some cases, telephone calls. Data were analyzed using the method of Dickelman et al. (1196). Guba and Lincoln's (1191) criteria were used to achieve data authenticity. Results: Data were obtained from 15 COVID-11 recovered patients with a history of ICU admission. Twelve participants were female and four were male with a mean age of 26 years. The four main themes were identified along with their subthemes: Perception of death before dying (worry, helplessness, and expecting a different death), social stigma (social isolation and stigma), a nurse as a symbol of rebirth (a compassionate and supportive nurse and the supportive role of others), and meaningful life (a change in outlook on life and the manifestation of spirituality). Conclusion: The results of the present study indicated that personal thoughts such as thinking about death and social treatments such as stigma can lead to threatening physical and psychological problems in COVID-11 patients. Nurses and family members can prevent many of these problems by providing holistic care and psychological support. Apart from the challenges posed by the disease, post-recovery changes in patients' attitudes toward life can be considered as a positive point.
ABSTRACT
Background: In many developing and developed countries, the profession of nursing is directly affected by the country's legislative structure and associated governance arrangements. Thus, nursing policymakers, practitioners, and educators should understand the way nursing legislation is created and implemented, as well as its impact on the nursing profession. Purpose: The purpose of this study was to describe the structure of nursing legislation in Iran from the perspective of nursing policymakers. Methods: For this qualitative study, a content analysis approach was used. Data were collected through semi-structured interviews conducted with nursing policymakers (N = 15). Additionally, the content of Iranian government websites was used as collected data in the process of data analysis. Result: Three main categories emerged from the data: (a) the role of competent authorities, (b) the advancement of the nursing profession, and (c) the emergence of new diseases as an opportunity for developing nursing policy. Conclusion: Although the involvement of competent authorities plays a crucial role in structuring Iranian nursing policy, the role of nursing in treating emerging diseases also brings opportunities for nursing policymakers to revise current legislation and develop new practice acts. © 2021 National Council of State Boards of Nursing
ABSTRACT
During the COVID-19 pandemic, healthcare workers stand in the frontline of the fight against the disease. This study aimed to assess the challenges with personal protection during the pandemic in Tehran, Iran. Seven-hundred healthcare workers were surveyed between April and May 2020, and the study was performed in surgical care wards. Questionnaires, which were sent to 1000 workers via online platforms, social networks, and emails to different associations, were used to assess the use of personal protective equipment (PPE) and the reasons for not using it. A total of 700 replied. Face masks and face shields had the highest and lowest use, respectively. Equipment shortage, time constraint, low supervision, and lack of information were the reasons for personnel not using PPE. To reduce the burden of COVID-19 and accelerate the process of patient care, it is important to protect and maintain the well-being of staff. Organised national and international arrangements to protect them are critical.