ABSTRACT
Objective: The purpose of this study was to gain a better understanding of the perceptions and experiences of nurses caring for patients and families under the COVID-19 pandemic's socially restrictive practices and policies.
Background: The COVID-19 global pandemic has affected the delivery of health care to patients and their families, with many aspects altered because of the need for social distancing, social isolation, and visitation restriction policies. These policies have created communication challenges for interdisciplinary health care teams, patients, and families. As frontline caregivers, nurses have felt strongly the impact of these challenges.
Methods: A qualitative descriptive study was conducted among 17 RNs who were caring for patients during the COVID-19 pandemic and were recruited via social media posts on Facebook, Twitter, and LinkedIn. Watson's theory of human caring served as the conceptual framework for the study.
Results: Several themes emerged regarding nurses' experiences of communication with patients and families. These include communication challenges and barriers, prioritization, integration of group communication, nurse self-reflection, and acceptance of gratitude.
Conclusions: The study findings underscore the importance of nurses' communication with patients and families under the pandemic's restricted conditions. They demonstrate the value of nurses' ability to innovate in fostering all parties' participation in the plan of care, and highlight the comfort nurses provide to patients who are isolated from loved ones. Strategies that fostered communication were identified, as were areas for further research.