Rehabilitation of COVID-19 patients in hospital settings during the pandemic: a phenomenological study of Finnish physiotherapists’ perspective

Figures & data

Table 1. Inclusion and exclusion criteria.

Inclusion criteria	Exclusion criteria
Employed in a hospital as a physiotherapist during the Pandemic	Only experience of treating patients who had tested positive for COVID-19 was when such patients became infected during hospitalisation due to another health condition
Participated in the rehabilitation of COVID-19 patients in an ICU or on a medical ward between Q1 2020 and Q3 2022
Participated in the rehabilitation of COVID-19 patients as a full-time or part-time task, alongside working with other patient groups.

Table 2. An example of the data-analysis procedure.

Original data	You don’t have the tools… the infection, the disease itself, is so kind of challenging that your tools… they just run out. You can do your best, but your best probably isn’t enough. So there was a feeling of inadequacy at times. (Participant 1)	My own first thought was ‘how interesting is this, where there’s no prior knowledge’, so I thought at first that I would like to be involved in such a way that I can see what it’s all about. I thought to myself that I have a front-row seat, I get to do something that hasn’t been done before. (Participant 4)
Code	Feeling of inadequacy	Interest in the new disease
Subtheme	Fear and frustration when facing a brutal disease	Curiosity of the unknown
Theme	Mixed feelings and reactions when facing the brutality of an unknown disease

Table 3. Thematic analysis presented as themes, sub-themes, and codes.

Theme	Subtheme	Code
1. Pragmatic development of sensitive rehabilitation practices in a new and confusing working environment	Gradually experimenting with rehabilitation practices by utilising prior knowledge	Comparing COVID-19 patients to influenza/other lung-disease patients
		Getting confirmation for rehabilitation practices from new publications
		Hands-on experimentation
		Repetition of treatment practices
	Striving to encourage movement-sensitive patients	Acknowledging sensitivity
		Supporting the patience of patients
		Facilitating trust during mobilisation
		Innovating with regard to communication
	Lack of clarity in available guidelines	Lack of concreteness in rehabilitation recommendations
		Lack of clarity in organisational guidelines
2. Becoming a member of a cohesive team	From an outsider to a central part of a multi-professional team	Lack of clarity in customary professional roles
		Perceiving role as meaningful and clear
	A sense of cohesion within multi-professional teams	Working towards common goals
		Sensing a good atmosphere
		Sensing cohesion
3. Mixed feelings and reactions when facing the brutality of the unknown disease	Fear and frustration when facing a brutal disease	Being scared
		Being stressed by the idea of missing important things
		Fear of contagion
		Feeling of inadequacy
		Feeling of isolation
	Curiosity of the unknown	Interest in the new disease
		Enthusiasm regarding a new field of physiotherapy
	Embodying distress and neglecting one’s own needs	Experiencing delayed stress reactions and physical stress symptoms
4. Being supported by colleagues but lacking support from the healthcare organisation	Feeling invisible within the healthcare organisation while experiencing high demands	Lack of recognition
		Lack of reflection
		Lack of coping support
		Lack of access to professional counselling
	Sensing solid support from colleagues	Being supported by colleagues with professional reflection
		Being supported by colleagues with professional development