COVID-19 nurses’ experiences of caring: a qualitative study

Introduction
Nurses at the frontline of providing direct care to COVID-19 patients are at risk of infection, exposure to severe physical and mental challenges and stress, which can have negative consequences for patient care. The nurses’ experiences can be useful for planning a safe healthcare system in the face of infective pandemics. So, their experiences should be used to identify and solve the related problems, because by using the experiences of these nurses, the relevant problems can be identified. Aim of the research: This study aimed to describe COVID-19 nurses’ experiences of caring.

Material and methods
This qualitative content analysis study was conducted on 10 nurses of the COVID-19 ward of the educational Amir Al-Momenin Hospital from 10 May to 30 August, 2020 in Zabol, southeast Iran. Data were collected using semi-structured interviews. The data were analysed using the Graneheim and Lundman approach.

Results
The present qualitative content analysis was conducted on 10 nurses of a COVID-19 ward. The following main themes and sub-themes were included: COVID-19 nurses’ experiences of caring, multiple aspects of caring for COVID-19 patients, the challenges and requisites of COVID-19 care, and the fear of being infected by the virus and the nurses’ protective self-care.

Conclusions
The results show the importance of taking care of patients, meeting the existing safety challenges and being able to take good care of themselves.