Caring for COVID-19 patients – Nurses’ experiences in Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam : A qualitative study

Sammanfattning: Background: Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) was declared a global pandemic on 11th March 2020. Vietnam has had a relatively low rate of infection, but the impact on health care is still significant. There is a need for increased understanding about nurses’ experiences working closely with infected patients. Aim: This study aimed to explore nurses’ experiences of caring for COVID-19 patients during the COVID-19 pandemic at hospitals in Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam. Method: A qualitative descriptive research design was used and data were collected through semi-structured interviews. Seven nurses from three different hospitals in Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam, participated in this study. Categories were identified based on a qualitative content analysis. Results: The analyses identified generic categories that described organizational, work-related, and personal challenges that nurses faced whilst caring for COVID-19 patients. The generic categories were divided into three main categories: 1) Work challenges and adaptations faced by hospitals and nurses' due to the COVID-19 pandemic and its impact, 2) Nurses' experiences of providing care and emotional support to COVID-19 patients, and 3) Nurses' personal challenges of working with COVID-19 patients and the support system and mindset needed to overcome them. Discussion: According to the findings, nurses' high workload and stress may have negatively impacted the quality of care for COVID-19 patients as well as the nurses' personal health. As a result of the findings in the thesis and from a previous study on the subject, the authors believe that the nurses may have improved patients' recovery chances by providing them with motivation and hope. The findings were discussed in relation to Jean Watson's theory of human caring.