Exploring nurses’ experiences of psychological distress during care of patients with COVID-19: a qualitative study

Abstract

Background COVID-19 infection is a new disease that infects a large number of people, killing a ratio of whom every day in the world. Healthcare staff, especially nurses, experience a great deal of psychological distress during care of COVID-19 patients. Detecting factors that disturb nurses’ mental health during care of these patients can help to reduce their psychological distress. Therefore, this study aimed to explore nurses’ experiences of psychological distress during care of patients with COVID-19. Methods The present qualitative research was performed using the conventional content analysis method in Iran from March to May 2020. Participants in this study included the nurses caring for patients with COVID-19, and they were selected based on the purposeful sampling method. The data was collected through 20 phone call interviews and analyzed based on the method proposed by Lundman and Graneheim. Results Qualitative data analysis revealed 11 categories including death anxiety, anxiety due to the nature of the disease, anxiety caused by corpse burial, fear of infecting the family, distress about time wasting, emotional distress of delivering bad news, fear of being contaminated, the emergence of obsessive thoughts, the bad feeling of wearing personal protective equipment, conflict between fear and conscience, and the public ignorance of preventive measures. Conclusion The data showed that the nurses experienced a variety of psychological distress during care of patients with COVID-19. Through proper planning by authorities, it is possible to manage the risk factors of mental health distress in nurses and improve their mental health status.

Emotional Experience and Feelings during First COVID-19 Outbreak Perceived by Physical Therapists: A Qualitative Study in Madrid, Spain

“…On the one hand, overwhelming, ambiguity feelings, feeling helpless, feelings of pointlessness, guilt, and remorse, losing control, and a sense of providing futile care were identified when health professionals fought against events such as unprecedent heavy workload, depletion of existing human resources, shortage in protective devices, or patients die despite hard work. Other feelings also included anxiety against the death, anxiety due to the nature of an unknown virus, anxiety caused by corpse burial, fear of infecting the family, distress about time wasting, distress of always delivering bad news, fear of being contaminated, the emergence of obsessive thoughts, and the bad feeling of wearing PPE [ 13 ]. On the other hand, positive feelings including conscientiousness and self-sacrifice for patients were also identified when healthcare professionals risking their health and lives for their patients and being loyal to the medical oath.…”

“…Sun et al described the experience of twenty nurses and reported an evolution from negative to positive emotions during the first outbreak [ 12 ]. Similarly, Galehdar et al described that nurses attending COVID-19 patients experienced a variety of psychological distress during the first outbreak [ 13 ]. Most qualitative studies have been conducted in a specific healthcare population, nursing.…”

Sources of Health Anxiety for Hospital Staff Working during the Covid-19 Pandemic

“…The following two hypotheses and one research question were formulated. First, previous studies showed that being close to people infected with COVID-19 would increase psychological distress, higher anxiety, and avoidance behavior [ 17 , 18 , 27 ]; accordingly, we expected that being close to people infected with COVID-19 would be associated with higher health anxiety. Second, others have shown that hospital staff members working on the frontline reported higher symptoms of distress and anxiety [ 12 , 13 ]; given this, we anticipated that working on the frontline would be associated with higher scores for health anxiety and trait and state anxiety.…”

“…A higher task load was associated with lower general health [ 16 ]. In addition, frontline nurses reported anxieties related to the disease, fear of infecting their families, emotional distress related to delivering bad news, and conflicts between (dysfunctional) fears and the need to discharge a vital job [ 17 ]. Of 761 nurses surveyed in one study, 267 reported fear of getting infected [ 18 ].…”

Distressing healthcare workers during the COVID-19 pandemic: the challenges of holiday season in the Philippines

“…10 The expected combined action of the government and the public to follow health instructions and to stay at home can reduce the disease spread and the workload of health workers and professionals and improve their mental health and distress them. 12 Further, a specific Pre-holiday season policy or program that caters the physical, 9 mental 2 and spiritual 3 needs of the healthcare workers and professionals in the Philippines is suggested.…”