"All of this was awful:" Exploring the experience of nurses caring for patients with COVID-19 in the United States.
Nurs Forum
; 56(4): 869-877, 2021 Oct.
Article
in English
| MEDLINE | ID: covidwho-1320422
ABSTRACT
INTRODUCTION:
Little research documents the experience of nurses caring for patients with COVID-19 in the United States. This article explores the experience of nurses providing direct care to COVID-19 patients to understand the working conditions and emotional impact of working in this pandemic on nurses.METHODS:
Data were gathered through an online survey distributed via snowball sampling in July 2020. The survey included an open-ended question asking nurses to describe a personal experience providing care to a COVID-19 patient. Researchers analyzed 118 responses using content analysis.RESULTS:
The experience of nurses providing care to patients with COVID-19 was summarized into six themes (1) feeling overwhelmed with the quantity of work (33.1%), (2) patient death (30.5%), (3) helplessness (23.7%), (4) absence of patient family presence and need for additional support (22.9%), (5) personal protective equipment (PPE) concerns regarding safety and how PPE can impair the nursing role (20.3%), and (6) lack of preparedness for the pandemic (16.9%).CONCLUSIONS:
These findings suggest working directly with COVID-19 patients is a significant psychological strain on nurses. Adequate personal and institutional support for nurses is needed to prevent and treat mental distress from working under these conditions.Keywords
Full text:
Available
Collection:
International databases
Database:
MEDLINE
Main subject:
COVID-19
/
Nurses
Type of study:
Observational study
/
Qualitative research
Limits:
Humans
Country/Region as subject:
North America
Language:
English
Journal:
Nurs Forum
Year:
2021
Document Type:
Article
Affiliation country:
Nuf.12633
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