• Ozlem Kackin, Emre Ciydem, Ozgur Sema Aci, and Fatma Yasemin Kutlu.
• Department of Mental Health and Psychiatric Nursing, Florence Nightingale Nursing Faculty, Istanbul University - Cerrahpaşa, Istanbul, Turkey.
• Int J Soc Psychiatry. 2021 Mar 1; 67 (2): 158-167.

BackgroundNurses, who are playing an important role during the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) outbreak, are exposed to a range of psychosocial stressors due to unforeseen risks.ObjectivesThe objective of this study is to determine the experiences and psychosocial problems of nurses caring for patients diagnosed with COVID-19 in Turkey.SettingsThe data were collected between 9 May and 12 May 2020, in Istanbul, Turkey.ParticipantsThe study sample consisted of 10 nurses, who cared for patients diagnosed with COVID-19.MethodsThe research employed the descriptive phenomenological approach. The interviews were conducted face-to-face via the internet and were analysed with Colaizzi's seven-step method.ResultsThe experiences and psychosocial problems among nurses caring for patients diagnosed with COVID-19 were categorised under three themes, which were further divided into subcategories. The theme of the effects of the outbreak was divided into working conditions, psychological effects and social effects; the theme of short-term coping strategies was divided into normalisation, refusal to dwell on experiences, avoidance, expression of emotions and distraction; and the theme of necessities was divided into psychosocial support and resource management.ConclusionThe nurses caring for patients diagnosed with COVID-19 in Turkey were adversely affected, both psychologically and socially, by the pandemic; they used short-term coping strategies, and they needed psychosocial support and resource management. They also faced stigmatising attitudes and experiencing burnout and were at risk for secondary traumas due to witnessing disease and death.

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