DOI: https://doi.org/10.14710/nmjn.v12i1.42239

The Experience of Nurses Who were Isolated due to COVID-19 Infection: A Qualitative Study

*Ernawati Siagian orcid  -  Faculty of Nursing, Universitas Advent Indonesia, Indonesia
Gilny Rantung orcid scopus  -  Faculty of Nursing, Universitas Advent Indonesia, Indonesia
Open Access Copyright (c) 2022 Nurse Media Journal of Nursing
Creative Commons License This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International License.

Citation Format:
Abstract

Background: In their duties, health care workers, especially nurses, have a high risk of being infected with COVID-19 both from patients and non-patients. Some nurses who are infected need to be treated and isolated in the hospital. It is important to understand nurses’ experiences during isolation as this could change the way they provide nursing care for COVID-19 patients in the future. However, this topic has not been studied in Indonesia.

Purpose: This study aimed to explore the experience of nurses who were isolated in the hospital due to COVID-19 infection.

Methods: This qualitative study was conducted using a descriptive phenomenological approach. The participants were nurses who had been hospitalized in an isolation room, selected through purposive sampling. Data saturation was reached on the 7th participant, and a total of 7 nurses who were infected with COVID-19 participated. Data were collected through in-depth interviews and analyzed using Colaizzi’s phenomenological method.

Results: Data analysis resulted in three main themes: (1) Experience at diagnosis (Pre-isolation), with sub-themes: initial reaction, source/origin of infection, early symptoms, and reactions from family and close people; (2) Experiences during isolation, with sub-themes: Feelings in isolation rooms, body reactions to covid-19 therapy, medical response and swab results; and (3) Post-isolation experiences, with sub-themes: post-covid conditions, expectations for other covid patients, and expectations for medical personnel.

Conclusion: This study identified nurses’ experience of COVID-19 pre-isolation, isolation and post-isolation. Support from family members, colleagues and leaders are essential for their healing process. Appropriate care planning and approaches are expected to support nurses infected with COVID-19.
Fulltext View|Download
Keywords: COVID-19; descriptive phenomenology; nurse experiences

Article Metrics:

Article Info
Section: Articles
Language : EN
Recent articles
Discovering Elements and Developing Strategies to Implement the Tailored Care Education for Patients with Diabetes through A Systematic Review Emotion Regulation and Self-Injury Status among Nursing Students: A Cross-Sectional Study The Experience of Nurses Who were Isolated due to COVID-19 Infection: A Qualitative Study Editorial Front Matter Editorial Back Matter More recent articles
Most cited articles
Effects of Acupoint Stimulation with Digital Massager of Oxytocin on the Breast Milk Production of Working Mothers Review: Anxiety and Quality of life in Patients with Myocardial Infarction Motivation among Indonesian Nurses in Pursuing Continuing Professional Education and Its Relationship to Their Competencies Predicting Factors of Interpersonal and Situational Influences for Performing Stretching Exercises Based on Pender’s Model Development of Foot Massage Program on Nausea and Vomiting for Cancer Patients: A Literature Review More cited articles
  1. Aggar, C., Samios, C., Penman, O., Whiteing, N., Massey, D., Rafferty, R., Bowen, K., & Stephens, A. (2022). The impact of COVID‐19 pandemic‐related stress experienced by Australian nurses. International Journal of Mental Health Nursing, 31(1), 91–103. https://doi.org/10.1111/inm.12938
  2. Asadi-Aliabadi, M., Tehrani-Banihashemi, A., & Moradi-Lakeh, M. (2020). Stigma in COVID-19: A barrier to seek medical care and family support. Medical Journal of The Islamic Republic of Iran, 2020, 13–15. https://doi.org/10.47176/mjiri.34.98
  3. Aungsuroch, Y., Juanamasta, I. G., & Gunawan, J. (2020). Experiences of patients with coronavirus in the Covid-19 pandemic era in Indonesia. Asian Journal for Public Opinion Research, 8(3), 377–392. https://doi.org/10.15206/ajpor.2020.8.3.377
  4. Bandyopadhyay, S., Baticulon, R. E., Kadhum, M., Alser, M., Ojuka, D. K., Badereddin, Y., Kamath, A., Parepalli, S. A., Brown, G., Iharchane, S., Gandino, S., Markovic-Obiago, Z., Scott, S., Manirambona, E., Machhada, A., Aggarwal, A., Benazaize, L., Ibrahim, M., Kim, D., … Khundkar, R. (2020). Infection and mortality of healthcare workers worldwide from COVID-19: A systematic review. BMJ Global Health, 5(12), 1-11. https://doi.org/10.1136/bmjgh-2020-003097
  5. Banzett, R. B. B., Sheridan, A. R., Baker, K. M., Lansing, R. W., & Stevens, J. P. (2020). “Scared to death” dyspnoea from the hospitalised patient’s perspective. BMJ Open Respiratory Research, 7(1), 2019–2021. https://doi.org/10.1136/bmjresp-2019-000493
  6. Bhattacharya, P., Banerjee, D., & Rao, T. S. (2020). The “untold” side of COVID-19: Social stigma and its consequences in India. Indian Journal of Psychological Medicine, 42(4), 382-386. https://doi.org/10.1177/0253717620935578
  7. Burdorf, A., Porru, F., & Rugulies, R. (2020). The COVID-19 (Coronavirus) pandemic: Consequences for occupational health. Scandinavian Journal of Work, Environment and Health, 46(3), 229–230. https://doi.org/10.5271/sjweh.3893
  8. Cabrini, L., Landoni, G., & Zangrillo, A. (2020). Minimise nosocomial spread of 2019-nCoV when treating acute respiratory failure. The Lancet, 395(10225), 685. https://doi.org/10.1016/S0140-6736(20)30359-7
  9. Cai, H., Tu, B., Ma, J., Chen, L., Fu, L., Jiang, Y., & Zhuang, Q. (2020). Psychological impact and coping strategies of frontline medical staff in Hunan between January and March 2020 during the outbreak of Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID) in Hubei, China. Medical Science Monitor, 26, 1–16. https://doi.org/10.12659/MSM.924171
  10. Colaizzi, P., Vale, R., & King, M. (1978). Existential-phenomenological alternatives for psychology. Oxford University Press
  11. Fardin, M. A. (2020). COVID-19 epidemic and spirituality: A review of the benefits of religion in times of crisis. Jundishapur Journal of Chronic Disease Care, 9(2), e104260. https://doi.org/10.5812/jjcdc.104260
  12. Giallonardo, V., Sampogna, G., Del Vecchio, V., Luciano, M., Albert, U., & Carmassi, C., Carrà, G., Cirulli, F., Dell’Osso, B., Nanni, M. G., Pompili, M., Sani, G., Tortorella, A., Volpe, U., & Fiorillo, A. (2020). The impact of quarantine and physical distancing following COVID-19 on mental health: Study protocol of a multicentric Italian population trial. Frontiers in Psychiatry, 11, 533. https://doi.org/10.3389/fpsyt.2020.00533
  13. Habib, P. T. (2021). COVID-19 symphony: A review of possible music therapy effect in supporting the immune system of COVID-19 patient. Highlights in BioScience, 4, bs202105. https://doi.org/10.36462/h.biosci.202105
  14. He, J., Liu, L., Chen, X., Qi, B., Liu, Y., Zhang, Y., & Bai, J. (2021). The experiences of nurses infected with COVID-19 in Wuhan, China: A qualitative study. Journal of Nursing Management, 29(5), 1180–1188. https://doi.org/10.1111/jonm.13256
  15. Hendy, A., Abozeid, A., Sallam, G., Abboud Abdel Fattah, H., & Ahmed Abdelkader Reshia, F. (2021). Predictive factors affecting stress among nurses providing care at COVID‐19 isolation hospitals at Egypt. Nursing Open, 8(1), 498–505. https://doi.org/10.1002/nop2.652
  16. Higgins, V., Sohaei, D., Diamandis, E. P., & Prassas, I. (2021). COVID-19: From an acute to chronic disease? Potential long-term health consequences. Critical Reviews in Clinical Laboratory Sciences, 58(5), 297–310. https://doi.org/10.1080/10408363.2020.1860895
  17. Huang, C., Wang, Y., Li, X., Ren, L., Zhao, J., Hu, Y., Zhang, L., Fan, G., JXu, J., Gu, X., Cheng, Z., Yu, T., Xia, J., Wei, Y., Wu, W., Xie, X., Yin, W., Li, H., Liu, M., … Cao, B. (2020). Clinical features of patients infected with 2019 novel Coronavirus in Wuhan, China. The Lancet, 395(10223), 497–506. https://dx.doi.org/10.1016%2FS0140-6736(20)30183-5
  18. Jesmi, A. A., Mohammadzade-Tabrizi, Z., Rad, M., Hosseinzadeh-Younesi, E., & Pourhabib, A. (2021). Lived experiences of patients with Covid-19 infection: A phenomenology study. Medicinski Glasnik, 18(1), 18–26. https://doi.org/10.17392/1247-21
  19. Jin, Y. H., Cai, L., Cheng, Z. S., Cheng, H., Deng, T., Fan, Y. P., Fang, C., Huang, D., Huang, L. Q., Huang, Q., Han, Y., Hu, B., Hu, F., Li, B. H., Li, Y. R., Liang, K., Lin, L. K., Luo, L. S., Ma, J., … Wang, X. H. (2020). A rapid advice guideline for the diagnosis and treatment of 2019 novel Coronavirus (2019-nCoV) infected pneumonia (standard version). Military Medical Research, 7(4), 1–23. https://doi.org/10.11855/j.issn.0577-7402.2020.01.01
  20. Johns Hopkins University Center for Systems Science and Engineering. (2021). COVID-19 dashboard by the Center for Systems Science and Engineering (CSSE) at Johns Hopkins University (JHU). John Hopkins University & Medicine: Coronavirus Resource Center
  21. Kar, S. K., Yasir Arafat, S. M., Kabir, R., Sharma, P., & Saxena, S. K. (2020). Coping with mental health challenges during COVID-19. In S. K. Saxena (Ed.), Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19). Medical virology: From pathogenesis to disease control. (Vol. 2019, pp. 199–213). Springer. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-981-15-4814-7_16
  22. Lai, J., Ma, S., Wang, Y., Cai, Z., Hu, J., Wei, N., Wu, J., Du, H., Chen, T., Li, R., Tan, H., Kang, L., Yao, L., Huang, M., Wang, H., Wang, G., Liu, Z., & Hu, S. (2020). Factors associated with mental health outcomes among health care workers exposed to coronavirus disease 2019. JAMA Network Open, 3(3), 1–12. https://doi.org/10.1001/jamanetworkopen.2020.3976
  23. Lincoln, Y. S., & Guba, E. G. (1985). Naturalistic inquiry. SAGE. https://uk.sagepub.com/en-gb/asi/naturalistic-inquiry/book842
  24. Lorente, L., Vera, M., & Peiró, T. (2021). Nurses´ stressors and psychological distress during the COVID‐19 pandemic: The mediating role of coping and resilience. Journal of Advanced Nursing, 77(3), 1335–1344. https://doi.org/10.1111/jan.14695
  25. Ministry of Health of the Republic of Indonesia. (2020a). Keputusan Menteri Kesehatan Republik Indonesia nomor HK.01.07/MENKES/247/2020 tentang pedoman pencegahan dan pengendalian Covid-19 [The Decree of the Minister of Health of the Republic of Indonesia number HK.01.07/Menkes/247/2020 regarding prevention and control of Coronavirus disease (COVID-19)]. Minister of Health of the Republic of Indonesia
  26. Ministry of Health of the Republic of Indonesia. (2020b). Pedoman pencegahan dan pengendalian Coronavirus disease (COVID-19) [The guidelines for prevention and control of Coronavirus disease (COVID-19)]. Ministry of Health of the Republic of Indonesia
  27. Moghimian, M., Farzi1, K., Farzi, S., Moladoost, A., & Safiri, S. (2022). Exploring the experiences of nurses and physicians infected with COVID‑19. Journal of Education and Health Promotion, 11(35), 1–6. https://doi.org/10.4103/jehp.jehp_604_21
  28. Mohindra, R., R, R., Suri, V., Bhalla, A., & Singh, S. M. (2020). Issues relevant to mental health promotion in frontline health care providers managing quarantined/isolated COVID19 patients. Asian Journal of Psychiatry, 51, 102084. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ajp.2020.102084
  29. Moradi, Y., Mollazadeh, F., Karimi, P., Hosseingholipour, K., & Baghaei, R. (2020). Psychological disturbances of survivors throughout COVID-19 crisis: A qualitative study. BMC Psychiatry, 20(1), 1–8. https://doi.org/10.1186/s12888-020-03009-w
  30. Olufadewa, I. I., Adesina, M. A., Oladokun, B., Baru, A., Oladele, R. I., Iyanda, T. O., Ajibade, O. J., & Abudu, F. (2020). “I was scared I might die alone”: A qualitative study on the physiological and psychological experience of COVID-19 survivors and the quality of care received at health facilities. International Journal of Travel Medicine and Global Health, 8(2), 51–57. https://doi.org/10.34172/ijtmgh.2020.09
  31. Panteleeva, Y., Ceschi, G., Glowinski, D., Courvoisier, D. S., & Grandjean, D. (2018). Music for anxiety? Meta-analysis of anxiety reduction in non-clinical samples. Psychology of Music, 46(4), 473–487. https://doi.org/10.1177/0305735617712424
  32. Park, H. Y., Park, W. B., Lee, S. H., Kim, J. L., Lee, J. J., Lee, H., & Shin, H. S. (2020). Posttraumatic stress disorder and depression of survivors 12 months after the outbreak of Middle East respiratory syndrome in South Korea. BMC Public Health, 20(1), 1–9. https://doi.org/10.1186/s12889-020-08726-1
  33. Roman, N. V, Mthembu, T. G., & Roman, N. (2020). Spiritual care – ‘ A deeper immunity ’ – A response to Covid-19 pandemic spiritual care in the South African. African Journal of Primary Health Care & Family Medicine, 12(1), e1–e3. https://doi.org/10.4102/phcfm.v12i1.2456
  34. Sahoo, S., Mehra, A., Suri, V., Malhotra, P., Yaddanapudi, L. N., Puri, G. D., & Grover, S. (2020). Lived experiences of the corona survivors (patients admitted in COVID wards): A narrative real-life documented summaries of internalized guilt, shame, stigma, anger. Asian Journal of Psychiatry, 53, 102187. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ajp.2020.102187
  35. Sarfika, R., Malini, H., Putri, D. E., Buanasari, A., Abdullah, K. L., & Freska, W. (2021). Factors influencing depression among Indonesians during the COVID-19 outbreak. Nurse Media Journal of Nursing, 11(3), 380–388. https://doi.org/10.14710/nmjn.v11i3.36783
  36. Shaban, R. Z., Nahidi, S., Castillo, C. S., Li, C., Gilroy, N., N, M. V, O’Sullivan, Sorrell, T. C., White, E., Hackett, K., & Bag, S. (2020). SARS-CoV-2 infection and COVID-19: The lived experience and perceptions of patients in isolation and care in an Australian healthcare setting. American Journal of Infection Control, 48(12), 1445–1450. https://doi.org/https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ajic.2020.08.032
  37. Shah, W., Hillman, T., Playford, E. D., & Hishmeh, L. (2021). Managing the long term effects of covid-19: Summary of NICE, SIGN, and RCGP rapid guideline. The BMJ, 372, 10–13. https://doi.org/10.1136/bmj.n136
  38. Soebandrio, A., Kusumaningrum, T., Yudhaputri, F. A., Oktavianthi, S., Safari, D., Malik, S. G., & Myint, K. S. A. (2021). COVID-19 prevalence among healthcare workers in Jakarta and neighbouring areas in Indonesia during early 2020 pandemic. Annals of Medicine, 53(1), 1896–1904. https://doi.org/10.1080/07853890.2021.1975309
  39. Sun, N., Wei, L., Shi, S., Jiao, D., Song, R., Ma, L., Wang, H., Wang, C., Wang, Z., You, Y., Liu, S., & Wang, H. (2020). A qualitative study on the psychological experience of caregivers of COVID-19 patients. American Journal of Infection Control, 48(6), 592–598. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ajic.2020.03.018
  40. Taylor, S., Landry, C. A., Paluszek, M. M., Fergus, T. A., Mckay, D., & Asmundson, G. J. G. (2020). Development and initial validation of the COVID stress scales. Journal of Anxiety Disorders, 72, 102232. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.janxdis.2020.102232
  41. Tuason, M. T., Güss, C. D., & Boyd, L. (2021). Thriving during COVID-19: Predictors of psychological well-being and ways of coping. PLoS ONE, 16(3), e0248591. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0248591
  42. Turale, S., Meechamnan, C., & Kunaviktikul, W. (2020). Challenging times: Ethics, nursing and the COVID‐19 pandemic. International Nursing Review, 67(2), 164-167. https://doi.org/10.1111/inr.12598
  43. Umarella, S., Farid, M., & Ab Rahman, Z. (2020). Medicine and Al-Quran recital approaches used on COVID-19 patients: A systematic review. Systematic Reviews in Pharmacy, 11(12), 1163–1170
  44. United Nations Development Programme. (2020). COVID-19 socio-economic impact. https://www.undp.org/coronavirus/socio-economic-impact-covid-19
  45. Wang, M., Zhou, Y., Zong, Z., Liang, Z., Cao, Y., Tang, H., Song, B., Huang, Z., Kang, Y., Feng, P., Ying, B., & Li, W. (2020). A precision medicine approach to managing 2019 novel Coronavirus pneumonia. Precision Clinical Medicine, 3(1), 14–21. https://doi.org/10.1093/pcmedi/pbaa002
  46. Wu, Z., & McGoogan, J. M. (2020). Characteristics of and important lessons from the Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) outbreak in China: Summary of a report of 72314 cases from the Chinese center for disease control and prevention. JAMA - Journal of the American Medical Association, 323(13), 1239–1242. https://doi.org/10.1001/jama.2020.2648
  47. Xiang, Y. T., Jin, Y., Wang, Y., Zhang, Q., Zhang, L., & Cheung, T. (2020). Tribute to health workers in China: A group of respectable population during the outbreak of the COVID-19. International Journal of Biological Sciences, 16(10), 1739–1740. https://doi.org/10.7150/ijbs.45135

Last update:

  1. Experiences and perspectives of nurses infected with COVID‐19: A qualitative systematic review and meta‐synthesis

    Yue Yao, Qinglin Zeng, Yuqiang Wang, Huijing Shi, Yanli Zeng. Nursing & Health Sciences, 25 (4), 2023. doi: 10.1111/nhs.13065

  2. “The whole sky has broken down on me. I might die alone”: A qualitative study on the lived experiences of COVID-19 positive frontline workers in Bangladesh

    Shamsul Arefin, Tamanna Rashid, Mowsume Bhattacharjee, Md. Didarul Habib, Md. Ashraful Islam, Mohammad Anisur Rahaman. Frontiers in Sociology, 7 , 2022. doi: 10.3389/fsoc.2022.1054921

  3. Experiences of family caregivers of nurses infected with COVID-19: a qualitative study

    Fereshteh Ghaljaei, Fereshteh Najafi. BMC Nursing, 23 (1), 2024. doi: 10.1186/s12912-024-02320-1

Last update: 2024-11-22 09:03:42

No citation recorded.