Exploring perceived stress from caring for coronavirus disease (COVID-19) patients in nurses: a qualitative study

Background: The coronavirus pandemic has increased the perceived stress among people worldwide. The new coronavirus issue has recently put nursing staff under severe stress. Aims: This study aimed to evaluate the stress perceived by nurses in caring for new coronavirus patients. Methods: This qualitative conventional content analysis was conducted from February and March 2021. Twelve nurses working in the inpatient care wards for COVID-19 patients in Tehran hospitals were enrolled using purposive sampling. Data were collected through in-depth and semi-structured interviews and collection continued until reaching data saturation. All interviews were recorded, transcribed, reviewed and analysed using the Graneheim and Lundman method. Results: One main category, five categories and 19 sub-categories emerged from the data. The nurses experienced ‘the process of transition from unknown conditions’. Caregiving stress, impression on all aspects of life, COVID as a strange disease, stress caused by patient characteristics and stress reduction over time were issues in the formation of stress in nurses caring for patients with COVID-19. Conclusions: The findings indicated that nurses caring for COVID-19 patients experience varying levels of stress for a variety of interrelated reasons. Knowing how nurses perceive the stress of caring for patients with COVID-19 can aid in the development of practical steps to reduce stress and make nurses more comfortable.