Research Article
BibTex RIS Cite

A Qualitative Study on Being an Emergency Nurse in the COVID-19 Pandemic: “Trying to Stay Balanced on the Life-Death Line”

Year 2023, Volume: 26 Issue: 1, 1 - 8, 29.03.2023
https://doi.org/10.5152/JANHS.2023.22117200

Abstract

Objective: The aim of this study is to describe the perceptions and experiences of emergency nurses during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Methods: The research was conducted with content analysis based on a qualitative approach. The study was conducted in the emergency department of a training and research hospital in
western Turkey between July and December 2021. Forty-nine nurses who were determined by the criterion sampling method, which is one of the purposeful sampling method, were interviewed.
Nurses working in the emergency department, caring for patients with COVID-19, and volunteering to participate in the study were included in the study group. The data were collected using an
information form consisting of 8 questions containing the socio-demographic characteristics of the nurses, and a data collection form consisting of 10 semi-structured open-ended questions
was created in line with the literature. NVIVO 12 Pro program was used in the analysis of the data. The data were evaluated by thematic analysis.

Results: Five categories were reached in this research based on qualitative question analysis conducted with nurses who worked as emergency nurses in the fight against COVID-19 pandemic. The category labels and citation numbers from the most cited to the least are as follows: negative affect reflection (f:275), difficult working conditions (f:273), fatigue in the struggle (f:205), the promise of the profession (f:112), and head efforts (f:103).

Conclusion: As a result of the research, it was determined that emergency nurses were affected negatively physically and psychologically during the COVID-19 process, experienced various personal and professional problems, and used effective methods to cope with all these negativities. In order to improve and maintain the physical and mental health of nurses, their support needs should be closely monitored and support systems should be established.

References

  • 1.Zhu N, Zhang D, Wang W, et al. A novel coronavirus from patients with pneumonia in China, 2019. N Engl J Med. 2020;382(8):727-733. [CrossRef]
  • 2.Chams N, Chams S, Badran R, et al. COVID-19: a multidisciplinary review. Front Public Health. 2020;8:383. [CrossRef]
  • 3. Konakçı G. Türkiye’deki yeni koronovirüs salgın döneminde acil hemşireliği. KUHEAD. 2020;17(3):287-289. [CrossRef]
  • 4. Aditya RS, Yusuf A, Razeeni DMA, Al-Sayaghi KM, Solikhah FK. “We are at the forefront of rural areas” emergency nurse’s experience during pandemic: A qualitative study. Health Equity. 2021;5(1):818 825. [CrossRef]
  • 5. Hsu HC, Chou HJ, Tseng KY. A Qualitative study on the care experience of emergency department nurses during the COVID-19 Pandemic. Healthcare (Basel). 2021;9(12):1759. [CrossRef]
  • 6. AlQurash AA, Al Thobaity A, Al Moteri MO, Almalki M, AlAhmari WA. The experiences of emergency nurses during the Covid-19 crisis: factor analysis. Health Notions. 2020;4(7):211-221. [CrossRef]
  • 7. Chen SC, Lai YH, Tsay SL. Nursing perspectives on the impacts of COVID-19. J Nurs Res. 2020;28(3):e85. [CrossRef]
  • 8. Kang L, Ma S, Chen M, et al. Impact on mental health and perceptions of psychological care among medical and nursing staff in Wuhan during the 2019 novel coronavirus disease outbreak: a crosssectional study. Brain Behav Immun. 2020;87:11-17. [CrossRef]
  • 9. Liu M, zhang N, Wang W, Chen Q, Chen W, Lin Q. Experiences of nurses fighting coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19): a qualitative meta-integration. Am J Nurs Sci. 2020;9(6):394-401. [CrossRef]
  • 10. Pappa S, Ntella V, Giannakas T, Giannakoulis VG, Papoutsi E, Katsaounou P. Prevalence of depression, anxiety, and insomnia among healthcare workers during the COVID-19 pandemic: a systematic review and meta-analysis. Brain Behav Immun. 2020;88:901-907. [CrossRef]
  • 11. Ornell F, Halpern SC, Kessler FHP, Narvaez JCM. The impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on the mental health of healthcare professionals. Cad Saude Publica. 2020;36(4):e00063520. [CrossRef]
  • 12. Sun N, Wei L, Shi S, et al. A qualitative study on the psychological experience of caregivers of COVID-19 patients. Am J Infect Control. 2020;48(6):592-598. [CrossRef]
  • 13. Çınar D, Kılıç Akça N, Zorba Bahçeli P, Bağ Y. Perceived stress and affecting factors related to COVID-19 pandemic of emergency nurses in Turkey. J Nurs Manag. 2021;29(7):1916-1923. [CrossRef]
  • 14. Xu H, Stjernswärd S, Glasdam S. Psychosocial experiences of frontline nurses working in hospital-based settings during the COVID-19 pandemic - A qualitative systematic review. Int J Nurs Stud Adv. 2021;3:100037. [CrossRef]
  • 15. Mulyadi M, Dedi B, Hou WL, Huang IC, Lee BO. Nurses’ experiences of emergency department triage during the COVID-19 pandemic in Indonesia. J Nurs Scholarsh. 2022;54(1):15-23. [CrossRef]
  • 16. Sundler AJ, Lindberg E, Nilsson C, Palmér L. Qualitative thematic analysis based on descriptive phenomenology. Nurs Open. 2019;6(3):733-739. [CrossRef]
  • 17. Kuş Saillard E. Systematic versus ınterpretive analysis with two CAQ DAS Packages: NVivo and MAXQDA. Forum Qual Soc Res. 2011;12(1):34. [CrossRef]
  • 18. Tong A, Sainsbury P, Craig J. Consolidated criteria for reporting qualitative research (COREQ): a 32-item checklist for interviews and focus groups. Int J Qual Health Care. 2007;19(6):349-357. [CrossRef]
  • 19. He Q, Li T, Su Y, Luan Y. Instructive messages and lessons from Chinese countermarching nurses of caring for COVID-19 patients: a qualitative study. J Transcult Nurs. 2021;32(2):96-102. [CrossRef]
  • 20. Kackin O, Ciydem E, Aci OS, Kutlu FY. Experiences and psychosocial problems of nurses caring for patients diagnosed with COVID-19 in Turkey: a qualitative study. Int J Soc Psychiatry. 2021;67(2):158-167. [CrossRef]
  • 21. Billings J, Ching BCF, Gkofa V, Greene T, Bloomfield M. Experiences of frontline healthcare workers and their views about support during COVID-19 and previous pandemics: a systematic review and qualitative meta-synthesis. BMC Health Serv Res. 2021;21(1):923. [CrossRef]
  • 22. Joo JY, Liu MF. Nurses’ barriers to caring for patients with COVID-19: a qualitative systematic review. Int Nurs Rev. 2021;68(2):202-213. [CrossRef]
  • 23. Kalateh Sadati A, Zarei L, Shahabi S, et al. Nursing experiences of COVID-19 outbreak in Iran: a qualitative study. Nurs Open. 2021;8(1):72-79. [CrossRef]
  • 24. Xu S, Yang Q, Xie M, Wang J, Shan A, Shi F. Work experience of triage nurses in emergency departments during the prevalence of COVID-19. Int Emerg Nurs. 2021;56:101003. [CrossRef]
  • 25. Halcomb E, McInnes S, Williams A, et al. The experiences of primary healthcare nurses during the COVID-19 pandemic in Australia. J Nurs Scholarsh. 2020;52(5):553-563. [CrossRef]
  • 26. González-Gil MT, González-Blázquez C, Parro-Moreno AI, et al. Nurses’ perceptions and demands regarding COVID-19 care delivery in critical care units and hospital emergency services. Intensive Crit Care Nurs. 2021;62:102966. [CrossRef]
  • 27. Specht K, Primdahl J, Jensen HI, et al. Frontline nurses’ experiences of working in a COVID-19 ward- A qualitative study. Nurs Open. 2021;8(6):3006-3015. [CrossRef]
  • 28. Fernandez R, Lord H, Halcomb E, et al. Implications for COVID-19: a systematic review of nurses’ experiences of working in acute care hospital settings during a respiratory pandemic. Int J Nurs Stud. 2020;111:103637. [CrossRef]
  • 29. Galli F, Pozzi G, Ruggiero F, et al. A Systematic review and provisional metanalysis on psychopathologic burden on health care workers of coronavirus outbreaks. Front Psychiatry. 2020;11:568664. [CrossRef]
  • 30. Sanghera J, Pattani N, Hashmi Y, et al. The impact of SARS-CoV-2 on the mental health of healthcare workers in a hospital setting – A systematic review. J Occup Health. 2020;62(1):e12175. [CrossRef]
  • 31. Joshi G, Sharma G. Burnout: a risk factor amongst mental health professionals during COVID-19. Asian J Psychiatr. 2020;54:102300. [CrossRef]
  • 32. Galanis P, Vraka I, Fragkou D, Bilali A, Kaitelidou D. Nurses’ burnout and associated risk factors during the COVID-19 pandemic: a systematic review and meta-analysis. J Adv Nurs. 2021;77(8):3286 3302. [CrossRef]
  • 33. Liu Y, Wang H, Chen J, et al. Emergency management of nursing human resources and supplies to respond to coronavirus disease 2019 epidemic. Int J Nurs Sci. 2020;7(2):135-138. [CrossRef]
  • 34. Hou T, Zhang T, Cai W, et al. Social support and mental health among health care workers during coronavirus disease 2019 outbreak: a moderated mediation model. PLOS ONE. 2020;15(5):e0233831. [CrossRef]
  • 35. Southwick SM, Southwick FS. The loss of social connectedness as a major contributor to physician burnout: applying organizational and teamwork principles for prevention and recovery. JAMA Psychiatry. 2020;77(5):449-450. [CrossRef]
  • 36. Khanal P, Devkota N, Dahal M, Paudel K, Joshi D. Mental health impacts among health workers during COVID-19 in a low resource setting: a cross-sectional survey from Nepal. Global Health. 2020;16(1):89. [CrossRef]

COVID-19 Pandemisinde Acil Servis Hemşiresi Olmak Üzerine Nitel Bir Çalışma: “Yaşam-Ölüm Çizgisi Üzerinde Dengede Kalmaya Çalışmak”

Year 2023, Volume: 26 Issue: 1, 1 - 8, 29.03.2023
https://doi.org/10.5152/JANHS.2023.22117200

Abstract

Amaç: Bu çalışmada amaç acil servis hemşirelerinin COVID-19 pandemisi sırasındaki algı ve deneyimlerini betimlemektir.

Yöntemler: Araştırma, nitel yaklaşıma dayalı içerik analizi ile yürütülmüştür. Çalışma Türkiye'nin batısındaki bir eğitim araştırma hastanesinin acil servisinde Temmuz-Aralık 2021 tarihleri arasında yapılmıştır. Amaçlı örnekleme yönteminden birisi olan ölçüt örnekleme yöntemi ile belirlenmiş 49 hemşire ile görüşülmüştür. Çalışma grubuna acil serviste çalışan, COVID-19'lu hasta bakımı yapan ve araştırmaya katılmaya gönüllü olan hemşireler dahil edilmiştir. Veriler hemşirelerin sosyo demografik özelliklerini sorgulayan sekiz soruluk tanıtıcı özellikleri içeren bilgi formu ve
alanyazın doğrultusunda oluşturulan yarı yapılandırılmış açık uçlu 10 sorudan oluşan veri toplama formu kullanılmıştır. Verilerin analizinde NVIVO 12 Pro programı kullanılmıştır. Veriler tematik analiz ile değerlendirilmiştir.

Bulgular: COVİD-19 pandemisinde acil hemşiresi olarak çalışmış hemşireler ile yürütülmüş nitel soru çözümlemesine dayalı bu araştırmada beş kategoriye ulaşılmıştır. En çok atıf alandan en aza doğru kategori etiketleri ve atıf sayıları şöyledir: negatif duygulanım yansıması (f:275), zorlu çalışma koşulları (f:273), mücadelede yorgunluk (f:205), mesleğe verilmiş söz (f:112), baş etme çabaları (f:103).

Sonuç: Araştırma sonucunda COVID-19 sürecinde acil hemşirelerinin fiziksel ve psikolojik olarak olumsuz yönde etkilendikleri, çeşitli kişisel ve mesleki sorunlar yaşadıkları ve tüm bu olumsuzluklar ile başa çıkmada etkin yöntemler kullandıkları saptanmıştır. Hemşirelerin fiziksel ve ruhsal sağlığını geliştirmek ve sürdürmek için destek ihtiyaçları yakından izlenmeli ve destek sistemleri oluşturulmalıdır.

References

  • 1.Zhu N, Zhang D, Wang W, et al. A novel coronavirus from patients with pneumonia in China, 2019. N Engl J Med. 2020;382(8):727-733. [CrossRef]
  • 2.Chams N, Chams S, Badran R, et al. COVID-19: a multidisciplinary review. Front Public Health. 2020;8:383. [CrossRef]
  • 3. Konakçı G. Türkiye’deki yeni koronovirüs salgın döneminde acil hemşireliği. KUHEAD. 2020;17(3):287-289. [CrossRef]
  • 4. Aditya RS, Yusuf A, Razeeni DMA, Al-Sayaghi KM, Solikhah FK. “We are at the forefront of rural areas” emergency nurse’s experience during pandemic: A qualitative study. Health Equity. 2021;5(1):818 825. [CrossRef]
  • 5. Hsu HC, Chou HJ, Tseng KY. A Qualitative study on the care experience of emergency department nurses during the COVID-19 Pandemic. Healthcare (Basel). 2021;9(12):1759. [CrossRef]
  • 6. AlQurash AA, Al Thobaity A, Al Moteri MO, Almalki M, AlAhmari WA. The experiences of emergency nurses during the Covid-19 crisis: factor analysis. Health Notions. 2020;4(7):211-221. [CrossRef]
  • 7. Chen SC, Lai YH, Tsay SL. Nursing perspectives on the impacts of COVID-19. J Nurs Res. 2020;28(3):e85. [CrossRef]
  • 8. Kang L, Ma S, Chen M, et al. Impact on mental health and perceptions of psychological care among medical and nursing staff in Wuhan during the 2019 novel coronavirus disease outbreak: a crosssectional study. Brain Behav Immun. 2020;87:11-17. [CrossRef]
  • 9. Liu M, zhang N, Wang W, Chen Q, Chen W, Lin Q. Experiences of nurses fighting coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19): a qualitative meta-integration. Am J Nurs Sci. 2020;9(6):394-401. [CrossRef]
  • 10. Pappa S, Ntella V, Giannakas T, Giannakoulis VG, Papoutsi E, Katsaounou P. Prevalence of depression, anxiety, and insomnia among healthcare workers during the COVID-19 pandemic: a systematic review and meta-analysis. Brain Behav Immun. 2020;88:901-907. [CrossRef]
  • 11. Ornell F, Halpern SC, Kessler FHP, Narvaez JCM. The impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on the mental health of healthcare professionals. Cad Saude Publica. 2020;36(4):e00063520. [CrossRef]
  • 12. Sun N, Wei L, Shi S, et al. A qualitative study on the psychological experience of caregivers of COVID-19 patients. Am J Infect Control. 2020;48(6):592-598. [CrossRef]
  • 13. Çınar D, Kılıç Akça N, Zorba Bahçeli P, Bağ Y. Perceived stress and affecting factors related to COVID-19 pandemic of emergency nurses in Turkey. J Nurs Manag. 2021;29(7):1916-1923. [CrossRef]
  • 14. Xu H, Stjernswärd S, Glasdam S. Psychosocial experiences of frontline nurses working in hospital-based settings during the COVID-19 pandemic - A qualitative systematic review. Int J Nurs Stud Adv. 2021;3:100037. [CrossRef]
  • 15. Mulyadi M, Dedi B, Hou WL, Huang IC, Lee BO. Nurses’ experiences of emergency department triage during the COVID-19 pandemic in Indonesia. J Nurs Scholarsh. 2022;54(1):15-23. [CrossRef]
  • 16. Sundler AJ, Lindberg E, Nilsson C, Palmér L. Qualitative thematic analysis based on descriptive phenomenology. Nurs Open. 2019;6(3):733-739. [CrossRef]
  • 17. Kuş Saillard E. Systematic versus ınterpretive analysis with two CAQ DAS Packages: NVivo and MAXQDA. Forum Qual Soc Res. 2011;12(1):34. [CrossRef]
  • 18. Tong A, Sainsbury P, Craig J. Consolidated criteria for reporting qualitative research (COREQ): a 32-item checklist for interviews and focus groups. Int J Qual Health Care. 2007;19(6):349-357. [CrossRef]
  • 19. He Q, Li T, Su Y, Luan Y. Instructive messages and lessons from Chinese countermarching nurses of caring for COVID-19 patients: a qualitative study. J Transcult Nurs. 2021;32(2):96-102. [CrossRef]
  • 20. Kackin O, Ciydem E, Aci OS, Kutlu FY. Experiences and psychosocial problems of nurses caring for patients diagnosed with COVID-19 in Turkey: a qualitative study. Int J Soc Psychiatry. 2021;67(2):158-167. [CrossRef]
  • 21. Billings J, Ching BCF, Gkofa V, Greene T, Bloomfield M. Experiences of frontline healthcare workers and their views about support during COVID-19 and previous pandemics: a systematic review and qualitative meta-synthesis. BMC Health Serv Res. 2021;21(1):923. [CrossRef]
  • 22. Joo JY, Liu MF. Nurses’ barriers to caring for patients with COVID-19: a qualitative systematic review. Int Nurs Rev. 2021;68(2):202-213. [CrossRef]
  • 23. Kalateh Sadati A, Zarei L, Shahabi S, et al. Nursing experiences of COVID-19 outbreak in Iran: a qualitative study. Nurs Open. 2021;8(1):72-79. [CrossRef]
  • 24. Xu S, Yang Q, Xie M, Wang J, Shan A, Shi F. Work experience of triage nurses in emergency departments during the prevalence of COVID-19. Int Emerg Nurs. 2021;56:101003. [CrossRef]
  • 25. Halcomb E, McInnes S, Williams A, et al. The experiences of primary healthcare nurses during the COVID-19 pandemic in Australia. J Nurs Scholarsh. 2020;52(5):553-563. [CrossRef]
  • 26. González-Gil MT, González-Blázquez C, Parro-Moreno AI, et al. Nurses’ perceptions and demands regarding COVID-19 care delivery in critical care units and hospital emergency services. Intensive Crit Care Nurs. 2021;62:102966. [CrossRef]
  • 27. Specht K, Primdahl J, Jensen HI, et al. Frontline nurses’ experiences of working in a COVID-19 ward- A qualitative study. Nurs Open. 2021;8(6):3006-3015. [CrossRef]
  • 28. Fernandez R, Lord H, Halcomb E, et al. Implications for COVID-19: a systematic review of nurses’ experiences of working in acute care hospital settings during a respiratory pandemic. Int J Nurs Stud. 2020;111:103637. [CrossRef]
  • 29. Galli F, Pozzi G, Ruggiero F, et al. A Systematic review and provisional metanalysis on psychopathologic burden on health care workers of coronavirus outbreaks. Front Psychiatry. 2020;11:568664. [CrossRef]
  • 30. Sanghera J, Pattani N, Hashmi Y, et al. The impact of SARS-CoV-2 on the mental health of healthcare workers in a hospital setting – A systematic review. J Occup Health. 2020;62(1):e12175. [CrossRef]
  • 31. Joshi G, Sharma G. Burnout: a risk factor amongst mental health professionals during COVID-19. Asian J Psychiatr. 2020;54:102300. [CrossRef]
  • 32. Galanis P, Vraka I, Fragkou D, Bilali A, Kaitelidou D. Nurses’ burnout and associated risk factors during the COVID-19 pandemic: a systematic review and meta-analysis. J Adv Nurs. 2021;77(8):3286 3302. [CrossRef]
  • 33. Liu Y, Wang H, Chen J, et al. Emergency management of nursing human resources and supplies to respond to coronavirus disease 2019 epidemic. Int J Nurs Sci. 2020;7(2):135-138. [CrossRef]
  • 34. Hou T, Zhang T, Cai W, et al. Social support and mental health among health care workers during coronavirus disease 2019 outbreak: a moderated mediation model. PLOS ONE. 2020;15(5):e0233831. [CrossRef]
  • 35. Southwick SM, Southwick FS. The loss of social connectedness as a major contributor to physician burnout: applying organizational and teamwork principles for prevention and recovery. JAMA Psychiatry. 2020;77(5):449-450. [CrossRef]
  • 36. Khanal P, Devkota N, Dahal M, Paudel K, Joshi D. Mental health impacts among health workers during COVID-19 in a low resource setting: a cross-sectional survey from Nepal. Global Health. 2020;16(1):89. [CrossRef]
There are 36 citations in total.

Details

Primary Language Turkish
Subjects Nursing, Health Care Administration
Journal Section Research Articles
Authors

Emel Yılmaz This is me 0000-0002-5127-6651

Aynur Çetinkaya This is me 0000-0003-1599-0070

Duygu Helvacı 0000-0001-7059-6450

Tuğba Cengiz 0000-0002-0046-4927

Publication Date March 29, 2023
Published in Issue Year 2023 Volume: 26 Issue: 1

Cite

AMA Yılmaz E, Çetinkaya A, Helvacı D, Cengiz T.COVID-19 Pandemisinde Acil Servis Hemşiresi Olmak Üzerine Nitel Bir Çalışma: “Yaşam-Ölüm Çizgisi Üzerinde Dengede Kalmaya Çalışmak.” Journal of Nursology. March 2023;26(1):1-8. doi:10.5152/JANHS.2023.22117200

31408