Nordic nurses' areas of research during and related to the COVID‐19 pandemic. A scoping review with recommendations for evidence‐based practice

Abstract

AbstractBackgroundThe knowledge of the landscape of COVID‐19 research performed by nurses in hospitals and health services is scarce. It is important to identify, map and share knowledge and thus provide a better understanding of the important research performed by nurses.AimsTo provide a comprehensive overview of Nordic nurses' focus areas of research during and related to the COVID‐19 pandemic and to extract knowledge on recommendations for future evidence‐based practice.MethodsThe electronic databases of MEDLINE (via PubMed), CINAHL (via EBSCO) and Scopus (via Elsevier) were searched for studies describing all areas of nursing during and related to the COVID‐19 pandemic conducted in the Nordic countries. Studies conducted by a nurse as the first or last author and published from March 2020 to March 2022 were included in the scoping review. The protocol for the review is registered at Open Science Framework (https://osf.io/f8kuq).ResultsOf 8412 studies found in the comprehensive search, 119 studies met the inclusion criteria. The studies were written by nurses from Denmark (42%), Sweden (31%), Norway (20%), Finland (6%) and Iceland (1%). The majority of studies (39%) covered patients' and relatives' experiences of visiting restrictions and social distancing and relatives' communications with healthcare professionals. Twenty‐six per cent of included studies covered healthcare professionals' experiences of caring for patients infected with COVID‐19, working during the pandemic and suffering from the consequences of both.Linking Evidence to ActionThe recommendations of evidence‐based practice for future pandemics show that social distancing for disease prevention must be provided while considering the human consequences of social distancing. Special training is also recommended for healthcare professionals caring for COVID‐19 patients accompanied by psychosocial support for their mental well‐being. Additionally, virtual contact is an important supplement to personal treatment and face‐to‐face contact during social restrictions.