An Exploratory Study of Nurses' Feelings about COVID-19 after Experiencing SARS

The outbreak of severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS) in 2003 in Taiwan impacted Taiwanese society. However, the first case of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) was reported in Wuhan and spread around the world. During these outbreaks, nursing staff experienced different levels of pressure. Stu...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:International journal of environmental research and public health 2023-01, Vol.20 (3), p.2256
Main Authors: Lee, Hui-Ling, Chang, Pei-Ju, Lin, Li-Chiu
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Coronaviruses
COVID-19
COVID-19 - epidemiology
Data analysis
Data collection
Disease transmission
Emotions
Epidemics
Fatalities
Frustration
Hospitals
Humans
Interviews
Literature reviews
Medical research
Nosocomial infections
Nurses
Nursing care
Outbreaks
Qualitative Research
Severe acute respiratory syndrome
Stress
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Summary:The outbreak of severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS) in 2003 in Taiwan impacted Taiwanese society. However, the first case of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) was reported in Wuhan and spread around the world. During these outbreaks, nursing staff experienced different levels of pressure. Studies have explored the stress and adjustment of nurses during these periods, but studies describing the feelings of nurses during both SARS and COVID-19 outbreaks are lacking. The aim of this study was to explore the experiences of nurses who had cared for both SARS and COVID-19 patients. A qualitative study combined with snowball sampling was applied. Semi-structured questions were used to interview 10 nurses who had experienced both SARS and COVID-19. Two themes and four sub-themes were analyzed, which were: facing the epidemic from the unknown to known; and the experiences from ignorance to proficiency. The sub-themes were: the feeling of frustration and concern; bottlenecks and pressures in my work; my mission and support; and positive energy and camaraderie. The results showed that the media acts as an important resource during disease outbreaks; therefore, government departments have to use their wisdom to make good use of the media. Secondly, understanding the general public's response to the disease is also important for first-line nurses. Finally, on-the-job education and guidelines for first-line nurses are necessary, and support from the administration is also important.
ISSN:1660-4601
1661-7827
1660-4601
DOI:10.3390/ijerph20032256