COVID-19로 인한 정신간호사의 코호트 격리 경험

Abstract

Objectives This study aimed to explore the experiences of psychiatric nurses who were quarantined in cohorts to prevent the spread of infection during the COVID-19 pandemic. Methods Data were collected from July 19 to December 28, 2021 through in-depth interviews with psychiatric nurses who were in cohort isolation for more than 3 weeks until the data was saturated through the snowball sampling method. Through one-on-one in-depth interviews with psychiatric nurses, the meaning of experiences in cohort isolation was analyzed according into themes, sub-themes, and categorization stages according to Colaizzi's phenomenological method. Results The experience of nurses in cohort isolation, such as patients in psychiatric hospitals, was derived into six themes. The six themes were ‘anxious due to unpredictable situations’, ‘re-awareness of the ward environment’, ‘need a support system’, ‘do activities to cope with anxiety’, ‘think about changing jobs’, ‘ self-esteem improved as a psychiatric nurse.’ These results showed that cohort isolation was a problem under unilateral hospital instructions, without having any prior explanation or opportunity to judge cohort isolation. During cohort isolation, psychiatric nurses experienced the conflict of turnover and the meaning of their professional role as mental nurses while analyzing the causes of cohort isolation and working to cope with them. Conclusions Based on the results of psychiatricl nurses' cohort isolation experience, it can be used as basic data for developing strategies to support psychiatric nurses who are cohort- isolated in the event of a new infectious disease in the future, developing manuals for work efficiency, and maintenance education.