Lived experiences of nurses working in the clinical setting during COVID-19 in Ekurhuleni, Gauteng

Abstract

Background: The Coronavirus 2019 (COVID-19) outbreak spread rapidly and caused increased strenuous impact on the healthcare systems. This resulted in a change of patient care being rendered in the clinical setting, thus affecting nurses working in Covid-19 wards during this period. Aim: This study aimed to gain an in-depth understanding of the lived experiences of Nurses working in the clinical setting during the COVID -19 pandemic in Ekurhuleni, Gauteng Province. This understanding guided the researcher to propose recommendations in terms of Nursing practice, Nursing education and Nursing research. Method: The study followed a qualitative, descriptive phenomenological approach. A constructivist paradigm was applied. In-depth interviews were conducted face to face and telephonically with 13 professional Nurses who nursed COVID-19 positive patients in hospital in Ekurhuleni. The Colaizzi (1987) data analysis method was followed to analyse the audio recorded interviews. Findings: The following themes emerged from the analysis: (1) Nurses' emotional experiences of working during the COVID-19 pandemic; (2) Nurses' social experiences of working during the COVID-19 pandemic; (3) Nurses' own experiences of COVID-19 infection; (4) Nurses' challenging work experiences during the COVID-19 pandemic; (5) Nurses' positive work experiences during the COVID-19 pandemic; (6) Nurses' experiences of caring during the COVID-19 pandemic; (7) Nurses' experiences of coping during the COVID-19 pandemic; (8) Nurses' recommendations for working during the COVID-19 pandemic. Conclusion and recommendations: The results of this study indicated that professional nurses who cared for COVID-19 patients suffered psychological distress and physical burnout. Having in-sufficient resources which included Personal Protective Equipment (PPE) and equipment exposed the Nurses to contract COVID-19. Lack of in-service training and managerial support aggravated the poor nursing care rendered to patients resulting in, confusion of policies regarding isolation of the patients. Therefore, further studies are needed to determine the effect on nurse’s families and to improve procurement of resources. Working during the COVID-19 pandemic has exposed the nurses to identify the gap in their managerial support. Therefore, the researcher recommends that managerial support which includes offering of professional counselling be done routinely for improvement of mental wellbeing of the Nurses. Regular in-service training must also be conducted to support the Nurses in clinical setting. Key words: Lived experiences, Nurse, clinical setting, COVID-19, pandemic.