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Introduction Being critically ill in need of intensive care, lead to a challenging way back after survival, so also for survivors of COVID-19. The process to recovery can be long. Objectives The aim of our qualitative study was to elucidate meanings of recovery for people who were once critically ill with COVID-19. Method We conducted qualitative individual interviews with 13 individuals who had been critically ill with COVID-19, following a narrative approach. The data collected from the interviews, were analyzed according to phenomenological hermeneutic interpretation. Results The participants, although feeling alone in the process of recovery, had willpower to return to normal life but struggled to keep pace with others. They strived for balance in everyday life and to regain strength despite being exhausted after having COVID-19. The participants were grateful for their survival but displayed a need to understand what had happened. They longed for social contact, expressed feelings of abandonment, and wished for follow-up dialogues with healthcare professionals to better understand their situation. However, because support from healthcare was insufficient, the participants ultimately needed to develop their own strategies to cope with their questions, fears, and weakness. Conclusion Meanings of recovery for people once critically ill with COVID-19, is to strive for balance in everyday life. In their recovery process, healthcare professionals should seek to understand what the illness means for the ill person, and in mutual understanding support them based on their needs.

Introduction Day surgery is often preferred by patients, but it can pose challenges in self-management after discharge. In addition, patients undergoing orthopedic surgery report poorer rates of postoperative recovery than patients undergoing general surgery. Understanding patients’ perceptions of feeling safe while undergoing surgery facilitates individualized care and is important since it may affect their recovery. Objective The aim of this study was to describe patients’ perceptions of feeling safe in the perioperative period when undergoing orthopedic day surgery under regional anesthesia. Methods The design was qualitative and descriptive. Data were collected through a cross-sectional questionnaire containing open-ended questions. Qualitative content analysis with an inductive approach was used for data analysis. Participants’ characteristics were presented descriptively. The study population consisted of a consecutive sample of 97 patients who had undergone orthopedic day surgery under regional anesthesia between March and October 2022. Results The categorization process resulted in the development of two categories describing participants’ experience of perioperative feelings of safety when undergoing orthopedic day surgery: having someone near and having a sense of control. The results indicate that the relationship between patients and staff and the perceived feeling of control and participation are factors influencing patients’ perception of feeling safe in the perioperative period. Conclusions In perioperative care, nurses play a vital role in fostering patients’ sense of safety by establishing relationships. This ensures that patients can be actively engaged in their own care. Patients also need access to professional and competent staff who strives to add a personal touch and considers their perspective. Since patients undergoing orthopedic day surgery might face a more demanding postoperative recovery than they had initially anticipated, further research is suggested to explore the association between a perceived feeling of safety and postoperative recovery.

Introduction Barely one-fifth of people in Sweden have expressed their will regarding organ donation in the national Swedish Donor Registry, and the number of organ donations in Sweden remains low. Objective The aim of this study was to map behaviour and beliefs regarding organ donation in Sweden. Methods In a descriptive cross-sectional survey following a quantitative approach and 600 questionnaires were issued to randomly selected individuals across Sweden. Of them, 206 (36.3%) were completed. Data were analysed using descriptive statistics and presented as frequencies and percentages. Analytical statistical testing involved Pearson chi-square tests, Mann–Whitney U tests, and Kruskal–Wallis tests. Results The results indicate a discrepancy between positive opinion about organ donation in Sweden and the number of people enrolled in the Swedish Donation Registry. The most common argument for not wanting to donate organs was the notion of being too old to. Although self-rated knowledge about organ donation was admittedly low, so was interest in interest in learning more about it. Younger patients more frequently wanted information than older patients did. Conclusion Not wanting to donate organs due to age and/or illness may indicate a misconception. Making one's will known does not involve assessing one's health status or age but solely concerns the wish to do so. The findings thus raise an important question: How can people's interest in learning more about organ donation be induced in ethical ways?

Introduction Moral distress increases the risk that critical care nurses will lose the ability to provide quality nursing care. Aims To describe person-related conditions and perceptions of moral distress, health and intention to leave among critical care nurses in intensive care units, and to examine the relationship between person-related conditions, moral distress, health and intention to leave. Method Cross-sectional, with 220 critical care nurses in 15 Swedish ICUs, and data gathered via a self-reported questionnaire. Results Highest moral distress scores were reported in futile care and poor teamwork and 21% reported entertaining an intention to leave. Self-reported health was lower than before the COVID-19 pandemic and 4.1% reported pronounced exhaustion disorder. Self-reported health, reduced capacity to tolerate demands under time pressure, emotional instability or irritability, physical weakness, or being more easily fatigued and with decreased well-being were factors that had a relationship with futile care. Sleeping problems and intention to leave had a relationship with poor teamwork. Conclusions Different strategies are needed to reduce moral distress and the leadership is crucial for managing crises such as the COVID-19 pandemic.

Introduction The demands of the pandemic such as staff shortages and limited resources combined with new guidelines regarding infection control may have required the prioritizing of nursing interventions. Objectives The aim of this study was to describe critical care nurses’ experiences of prioritizing nursing interventions for patients with COVID-19 in intensive care units (ICUs) during the pandemic. Method A qualitative descriptive study was gathered from open-ended questions included in a cross-sectional online questionnaire. Characteristics were presented using descriptive statistics, and open-ended questions were analyzed using qualitative content analysis with an inductive approach. The study was conducted in Sweden and focused on critical care nurses working in ICUs during spring 2021 and the second year of the COVID-19 pandemic. Results During the COVID-19 pandemic, 87% of the critical care nurses had provided orientations for new co-workers, and 52% had supervised intensive care nursing students. In all, 70 answered the question of whether they had prioritized nursing care differently during the pandemic; 86% reported that they had and 14% had not. The qualitative analysis resulted in one theme, Institutional constraints as an obstacle for nursing interventions, with three categories: Prioritizing lifesaving interventions, Performing nursing interventions less frequently, and Not able to provide the nursing care I wish to provide. Conclusion Institutional constraints as an obstacle for nursing interventions is the overall theme. It illustrates how critical care nurses have been forced to prioritize, thereby not being able to provide the nursing interventions they wanted to do provide, and it describes their feelings in this situation. The nurses need recovery and possibilities for reflection. The organization must also recover and not only return to how it was before the pandemic but also to learn from recent events and take actions to reduce the long-term effects on staffing.

Introduction Health care workers faced new challenges during the COVID-19 pandemic when physical contact with relatives more or less disappeared. Objectives The aim of this study is to describe the experiences of critical care nurses (CCNs) working in intensive care units (ICUs) under the visiting restrictions imposed as a result of COVID-19. Method This study followed a qualitative design. The purposive sample included CCNs with at least 1 year of experience working in an ICU with a visiting policy affected by the pandemic. Data collection was carried out via semi-structured interviews and analyzed through a qualitative content analysis with an inductive approach. Results The study results are presented in three categories with 10 subcategories. CCNs value the presence of patients’ relatives at the bedside and described many challenges when relatives could not be present with the patient during the pandemic. Conclusion Close relatives are able to share essential information about the patients and provide much-needed emotional support to them, the relatives’ role is of central importance and CCNs value their presence in ICUs more than any positive consequences of them not being there.

Objective The aim of our study was to describe specialist nurses’ experiences with the helicopter transport of patients critically ill with COVID-19. Method Our study followed a descriptive qualitative design anchored in the naturalistic paradigm and was based on qualitative content analysis. The study followed the consolidated criteria for reporting qualitative research. Results Six semi-structured interviews were conducted with specialist nurses who have cared for patients critically ill with COVID-19 during helicopter transport. The analysis of the interviews resulted in three themes—designing new routines before transport, working under new conditions and post-transport and reflections—with 11 categories. The goal of the intensive care transport of patients with COVID-19 was twofold: to prevent the spread of infection by using personal protective equipment and to prevent the contamination of the helicopter. Conclusion For the nurses, working in personal protective equipment created a feeling of distance from patients that compromised patient–nurse intimacy. Our results suggest that ensuring the sufficiency of equipment required in the event of major accidents and pandemics is critical.