The Lived Experience of Nurses Caring for Patients with COVID-19 in Iran: A Phenomenological Study

Figures & data

Table 1 A Sample of the Questions Used in Interviews

Questions: First of all, tell us about your experience in caring for patients with COVID-19. What experience do you have? Tell us about your daily experiences in caring for patients with COVID-19.

Table 2 The Stages of Data Analysis Using the Colaizzi Descriptive Method

Description (Action)	Stage
Video calls, voice calls, and messages using WhatsApp and recording the interviews	Collecting descriptions
Transcribing and re-reading the content to gain a general and in-depth understanding of the participants’ statements	Understanding the depth of meanings
Reviewing the nurses’ explanations and specifying the important sentences	Extracting the important sentences
Extracting the important explanations and giving them meaning with specific concepts (expressing the meaning of the important parts)	Conceptualizing the important themes
The obtained concepts were placed in specific categories (based on the similarity of concepts).	Categorizing the concepts and topics
Clear and unambiguous expression of the description of the phenomenon under study.	Constructing comprehensive descriptions of the topics reviewed
Lincoln and Guba criteria used (credibility, transferability, reliability, and verification)	Validating the findings

Table 3 Characteristics of the Nurse Participants

ID	Age	Sex	Position	Shift Work	Work Experience	Time to Attend Coronavirus
P1	25	F	Nurse	Morning	4 Years	Two Months
P2	27	M	Nurse	Morning	6 Years	One Month
P3	26	F	Nurse	Morning	3 Years	Two Months
P4	28	F	Nurse	Morning	7 Years	One Month
P5	31	M	Nurse	Morning	8 Years	Two Months
P6	30	F	Staff	Evening	8 Years	Two Months
P7	32	M	Supervisor	Evening	10 Years	Two Months
P8	30	F	Nurse	Morning	7 Years	One Month
P9	31	F	Nurse	Night	5 Years	One Month
P10	35	M	Supervisor	Night	12 Years	Two Months
P11	29	F	Nurse	Morning	6 Years	One Month
P12	29	F	Nurse	Evening	5 Years	One Month
M±SD	29.41±2.74	–	–	–	6.75±2.52	–
Total	N=12

Note: P indicates participant.

Table 4 Themes and Subthemes Emerging During the Data Analysis

Themes	Subthemes	Cods	Participants' comments
Mental condition	Stress and anxiety	Disease contagion Get in trouble and get involved Confusion Restlessness	“I’m not calm at all, and I do not know what’s going on.” (P2) “I don’t think anything good will happen.” (P4) “Why should the world be so involved and then do nothing?” (P3)
	Fear	Anxiety To be ready Terrible situation	“Maybe I die, but I still have lots of dreams.” (P6) “I’m scared for my family and also for myself.” (P1) “How horrible these days are, we’re all dying.” (P7)
Emotional condition	Suffering and affliction	Trouble A lot of trouble Limited life	“I don’t know what my kids are doing now.” (P8) “These days, all of our work is hard, and people have their own problems.” (P5, P11) “We just think our lives will get better, but everything is messed up.” (P10)
	Waiting for death	Death of others Family separation	“Many people will die; disaster is happening.” (P12) “I haven’t met my family for a long time.” (P9)
Care context	Turmoil	Work pressure Inexperience Chaos Staff shortage	“We work hard, we work so much.” (P2) “They told me to come and work here, I didn’t have much experience.” (P7) “I don’t know how to take care of them, whatever I do, it’s just like I do nothing.” (P6) “The number of nurses is low and the tasks are very high.” (P10)
	Lack of support and equipment	Weakness of support Inadequate environment Non-participation	“No one is accountable.” (P8) “We don’t have a well-known employment situation, but we have to work.” (P3) “The cooperation of others is not good at all.” (P4)