A Phenomenological Study of Nurses’ Experience in Caring for COVID-19 Patients

Hye-Young Jang, Jeong-Eun Yang and Yong-Soon Shin
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Hye-Young Jang: School of Nursing, Research Institute of Nursing Science, Hanyang University, Seoul 04763, Korea
Jeong-Eun Yang: Department of Nursing, Jesus University, Jeonju-si 54989, Korea
Yong-Soon Shin: School of Nursing, Research Institute of Nursing Science, Hanyang University, Seoul 04763, Korea

IJERPH, 2022, vol. 19, issue 5, 1-14

Abstract: This study aimed to understand and describe the experiences of nurses who cared for patients with COVID-19. A descriptive phenomenological approach was used to collect data from individual in-depth interviews with 14 nurses, from 20 October 2020 to 15 January 2021. Data were analyzed using the phenomenological method of Colaizzi. Five theme clusters emerged from the analysis: (1) nurses struggling under the weight of dealing with infectious disease, (2) challenges added to difficult caring, (3) double suffering from patient care, (4) support for caring, and (5) expectations for post-COVID-19 life. The findings of this study are useful primary data for developing appropriate measures for health professionals’ wellbeing during outbreaks of infectious diseases. Specifically, as nurses in this study struggled with mental as well as physical difficulties, it is suggested that future studies develop and apply mental health recovery programs for them. To be prepared for future infectious diseases and contribute to patient care, policymakers should improve the work environment, through various means, such as nurses’ practice environment management and incentives.

Keywords: nursing; infectious diseases; caregiving; SARS-CoV-2; qualitative research (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: I I1 I3 Q Q5 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2022
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (2)

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