Patient care experiences of long-term care hospitals nurses during the COVID-19 pandemic: A phenomenological study

Purpose: The purpose of this study was to describe and understand the meaning and essence of care experienced by long-term-care-hospital nurses during the COVID-19 pandemic. Methods: This study is a phenomenological study by Colaizzi (1978) to understand and identify the meaning and essence of long-term-care-hospital nurses' experiences after the COVID-19 outbreak. Data collection was conducted from April to June 2021 for 10 nurses working at a long-term-care hospital. Interviews were conducted face-to-face or non-face-to-face. The face-to-face interviews were conducted in a space following COVID-19-mandated quarantine rules. Results: Seven theme clusters and 24 themes emerged: chaos experienced during the early stage of the pandemic, lack of a standardized care protocol hindering care delivery in long-term-care hospitals, sympathizing with the sorrows of patients and their families, taking the burdensome task of COVID-19 infection control as a nurse, COVID-19 vaccine-related anxiety, anger at the reality of long-term-care hospitals and the stigmatizing society, and hope for recovery from the disaster caused by COVID-19. Conclusion: This study will be helpful in establishing long-term-care policies and systems that will help improve the ability of long-term-care hospitals to cope with a pandemic in the post-COVID-19 era.