Skip to main page content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Dot gov

The .gov means it’s official.
Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.

Https

The site is secure.
The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

Access keys NCBI Homepage MyNCBI Homepage Main Content Main Navigation
. 2022 Jul 22:10:805631.
doi: 10.3389/fpubh.2022.805631. eCollection 2022.

Experiences and needs of front-line nurses during the COVID-19 pandemic: A systematic review and qualitative meta-synthesis

Shenglan Ding  1 , Shuhua Deng  2 , Yilan Zhang  3 , Qingxia Wang  3 , Zhiping Liu  4 , Jing Huang  4 , Xiaorong Yang  5
Affiliations

Experiences and needs of front-line nurses during the COVID-19 pandemic: A systematic review and qualitative meta-synthesis

Shenglan Ding et al. Front Public Health. .

Abstract

Background: Front-line nurses have played a critical role during the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic. A number of qualitative studies reported front-line nurses' experiences and needs in caring for patients with COVID-19. However, the application of evidence from a single qualitative study to guide clinical practice has limitations. This study aimed to explore front-line nurses' experiences and needs during the COVID-19 pandemic through a qualitative meta-synthesis.

Methods: Seven databases were searched from 1 December 2019 to 20 January 2022, including PubMed, Web of Science, Cochrane COVID-19 study register, CINAHL, PsycINFO, MedRxiv, and bioRxiv. The quality of included studies was appraised using the Critical Appraisal Skills Program (CASP) qualitative research appraisal tool. Meta-synthesis was used to synthesize the data from included studies.

Results: A total of 70 studies were included, and five synthesized findings were developed: (1) Although nurses actively devoted themselves to fighting against COVID-19, considering their professional responsibility and historical previous experience with mankind, they were not invulnerable; (2) There were various difficulties and challenges in caring for patients with COVID-19, including fear related to providing patients with care, shortage of protective equipment and manpower, and negative attitude of family members; (3) Facing difficulties and challenges, nurses could only partly cope by using mixed means to overcome those, including media, learning, gaining skills, responding together, and organizational assistance; (4) To better respond to the COVID-19 pandemic, nurses' needs should be paid attention to. Counseling, training, information, resources, and investment are pivotal; (5) Despite the hardships, nurses became stronger and gained gratitude, positivity, mental peace, and confidence.

Conclusions: This study reveals that the psychological experiences of front-line nurses varied, and they faced a variety of challenges. Although nurses had some coping strategies, they still needed multifaceted support to meet the challenges.

Systematic review registration: https://www.crd.york.ac.uk/PROSPERO/, PROSPERO: CRD42021255468.

Keywords: coronavirus disease 2019; experiences; needs; nurses; qualitative meta-synthesis; systematic review.

PubMed Disclaimer

Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
Flow chart of search results and study selection.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

Similar articles

See all similar articles

Cited by

See all "Cited by" articles

References

    1. Phelan AL, Katz R, Gostin LO. The novel coronavirus originating in Wuhan, China: challenges for global health governance. JAMA. (2020) 323:709–10. 10.1001/jama.2020.1097 - DOI - PubMed
    1. World Health Organization. WHO Director-General's Opening Remarks at the Media Briefing on COVID-19-11 March 2020 (2020). Available from: https://www.who.int/dg/speeches/detail/whodirector-general-s-opening-rem... (accessed March 18, 2020).
    1. Zhu N, Zhang D, Wang W, Li X, Yang B, Song J, et al. . A novel coronavirus from patients with pneumonia in China, 2019. N Engl J Med. (2020) 382:727–33. 10.1056/NEJMoa2001017 - DOI - PMC - PubMed
    1. World Health Organization. Weekly Epidemiological Update on COVID-19 - 8 March 2022 (2022). Available from: https://www.who.int/publications/m/item/weekly-epidemiological-update-on... (accessed March 8, 2022).
    1. People's Network,. National Health Health Commission: 68% of Nurses Supporting the Frontline Medical Staff (2020). Available from: http://health.people.com.cn/n1/2020/0229/c14739-31610814.html (accessed March 18, 2020).

Publication types