Experiences of Psychiatric Nurses Working in a Closed Psychiatric Unit during the COVID-19 Pandemic

Abstract

Purpose: This study aimed to understand the experiences of psychiatric nurses providing care for inpatients with mental illness during the COVID-19 pandemic.Methods: Data were collected from 18 April to 10 July 2023. Eleven psychiatric nurses in closed psychiatric units were recruited using purposive and snowball sampling. In-depth individual interviews were conducted for data collection, and reflexive thematic analysis was used for data analysis and the development of themes. Results: The five resulting themes were as follows: ‘prioritizing infection control over psychiatric nursing duties’, ‘increased burden of nursing care due to the complexities of mental illness’, ‘challenges in closed wards due to staffing shortages and susceptibility to infection’, ‘providing optimal psychiatric nursing care with limited resources’, and ‘change and growth of psychiatric nurses through the pandemic crisis’. Conclusion: Training in infection control and crisis response should be provided to psychiatric nurses in preparation for future pandemic crises. Facility and personnel support, guidelines, and patient education strategies that account for psychiatric characteristics should be provided. In addition, stress management and burnout prevention programs for psychiatric nurses are needed.