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

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.