Nurses’ Perceptions of Ethical Conflicts When Caring for Patients with COVID-19

Pedro Ángel Caro-Alonso, Beatriz Rodríguez-Martín, Julián Rodríguez-Almagro, Carlos Chimpén-López, Cristina Romero-Blanco (), Ignacio Casado Naranjo, Antonio Hernández-Martínez and Fidel López-Espuela
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Pedro Ángel Caro-Alonso: Health Service of Castilla-La Mancha, Integrated Care Management of Talavera de la Reina (Toledo), 45600 Talavera de la Reina, Spain
Beatriz Rodríguez-Martín: Department of Nursing, Physiotherapy and Occupational Therapy, Faculty of Health Sciences, University of Castilla-La Mancha, Avd/Real Fábrica de Sedas s/n, 45660 Talavera de la Reina, Spain
Julián Rodríguez-Almagro: Department of Nursing, Physiotherapy and Occupational Therapy, Faculty of Nursing, University of Castilla-La Mancha, Avd/ Camilo José Cela s/n, 13071 Cuidad Real, Spain
Carlos Chimpén-López: Department of Medical-Surgical Therapy, Psychiatry Area, Faculty of Nursing and Occupational Therapy, University of Extremadura, 10003 Caceres, Spain
Cristina Romero-Blanco: Department of Nursing, Physiotherapy and Occupational Therapy, Faculty of Nursing, University of Castilla-La Mancha, Avd/ Camilo José Cela s/n, 13071 Cuidad Real, Spain
Ignacio Casado Naranjo: Neurology Department, Universtity Hospital of Cáceres, 10003 Caceres, Spain
Antonio Hernández-Martínez: Department of Nursing, Physiotherapy and Occupational Therapy, Faculty of Nursing, University of Castilla-La Mancha, Avd/ Camilo José Cela s/n, 13071 Cuidad Real, Spain
Fidel López-Espuela: Metabolic Bone Diseases Research Group, Department of Nursing, Faculty of Nursing and Occupational Therapy, University of Extremadura, 10003 Cáceres, Spain

IJERPH, 2023, vol. 20, issue 6, 1-20

Abstract: The COVID-19 pandemic has caused ethical challenges and dilemmas in care decisions colliding with nurses’ ethical values. This study sought to understand the perceptions and ethical conflicts faced by nurses working on the frontline during the first and second waves of the COVID-19 pandemic and the main coping strategies. A qualitative phenomenological study was carried out following Giorgi’s descriptive phenomenological approach. Data were collected through semi-structured interviews until data saturation. The theoretical sample included 14 nurses from inpatient and intensive care units during the first and second waves of the pandemic. An interview script was used to guide the interviews. Data were analyzed following Giorgi’s phenomenological method using Atlas-Ti software. Two themes were identified: (1) ethical conflicts on a personal and professional level; and (2) coping strategies (active and autonomous learning, peer support and teamwork, catharsis, focusing on care, accepting the pandemic as just another work situation, forgetting the bad situations, valuing the positive reinforcement, and humanizing the situation). The strong professional commitment, teamwork, humanization of care, and continuous education have helped nurses to deal with ethical conflicts. It is necessary to address ethical conflicts and provide psychological and emotional support for nurses who have experienced personal and professional ethical conflicts during COVID-19.

Keywords: clinical ethics; COVID-19; duty of care; nursing ethic; 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: 2023
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