IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/gam/jijerp/v18y2021i24p12975-d698171.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

The Psychological Impact of COVID-19 on Front Line Nurses: A Synthesis of Qualitative Evidence

Author

Listed:
  • Sara Huerta-González

    (Faculty of Nursing, Universidad Veracruzana, Tuxpan, Poza Rica 91000, Mexico
    These authors contributed equally to this work.)

  • Dolores Selva-Medrano

    (Health Service of Castilla-La Mancha, University Hospital Complex of Albacete, C. Hermanos Falco, 37, 02006 Albacete, Spain
    These authors contributed equally to this work.)

  • Fidel López-Espuela

    (Metabolic Bone Diseases Research Group, Department of Nursing, Faculty of Nursing and Occupational Therapy, University of Extremadura, 10004 Caceres, Spain)

  • Pedro Ángel Caro-Alonso

    (Faculty of Health Sciences, University of Castilla-La Mancha, Avd/Real Fábrica de Sedas s/n, 45660 Talavera de la Reina, Spain)

  • Andre Novo

    (Instituto Politécnico de Bragança, 5300-253 Bragança, Portugal)

  • Beatriz Rodríguez-Martín

    (Faculty of Health Sciences, University of Castilla-La Mancha, Avd/Real Fábrica de Sedas s/n, 45660 Talavera de la Reina, Spain)

Abstract

Caring for people with COVID-19 on the front line has psychological impacts for healthcare professionals. Despite the important psychological impacts of the pandemic on nurses, the qualitative evidence on this topic has not been synthesized. Our objective: To analyze and synthesize qualitative studies that investigate the perceptions of nurses about the psychological impacts of treating hospitalized people with COVID-19 on the front line. A systematic review of qualitative studies published in English or Spanish up to March 2021 was carried out in the following databases: The Cochrane Library, Medline (Pubmed), PsycINFO, Web of Science (WOS), Scopus, and CINHAL. The PRISMA statement and the Cochrane recommendations for qualitative evidence synthesis were followed. Results: The main psychological impacts of caring for people with COVID-19 perceived by nurses working on the front line were fear, anxiety, stress, social isolation, depressive symptoms, uncertainty, and frustration. The fear of infecting family members or being infected was the main repercussion perceived by the nurses. Other negative impacts that this review added and that nurses suffer as the COVID-19 pandemic progress were anger, obsessive thoughts, compulsivity, introversion, apprehension, impotence, alteration of space-time perception, somatization, and feeling of betrayal. Resilience was a coping tool used by nurses. Conclusions: Front line care for people with COVID-19 causes fear, anxiety, stress, social isolation, depressive symptoms, uncertainty, frustration, anger, obsessive thoughts, compulsivity, introversion, apprehension, impotence, alteration of space-time perception, somatization, and feeling of betrayal in nurses. It is necessary to provide front line nurses with the necessary support to reduce the psychological impact derived from caring for people with COVID-19, improve training programs for future pandemics, and analyze the long-term impacts.

Suggested Citation

  • Sara Huerta-González & Dolores Selva-Medrano & Fidel López-Espuela & Pedro Ángel Caro-Alonso & Andre Novo & Beatriz Rodríguez-Martín, 2021. "The Psychological Impact of COVID-19 on Front Line Nurses: A Synthesis of Qualitative Evidence," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 18(24), pages 1-17, December.
    • Handle: RePEc:gam:jijerp:v:18:y:2021:i:24:p:12975-:d:698171
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: https://www.mdpi.com/1660-4601/18/24/12975/pdf
    Download Restriction: no
    File URL: https://www.mdpi.com/1660-4601/18/24/12975/
    Download Restriction: no
    ---><---

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Serena Barello & Anna Falcó-Pegueroles & Debora Rosa & Angela Tolotti & Guendalina Graffigna & Loris Bonetti, 2020. "The psychosocial impact of flu influenza pandemics on healthcare workers and lessons learnt for the COVID-19 emergency: a rapid review," International Journal of Public Health, Springer;Swiss School of Public Health (SSPH+), vol. 65(7), pages 1205-1216, September.
    2. Kavita Batra & Tejinder Pal Singh & Manoj Sharma & Ravi Batra & Nena Schvaneveldt, 2020. "Investigating the Psychological Impact of COVID-19 among Healthcare Workers: A Meta-Analysis," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 17(23), pages 1-33, December.
    3. Ozlem Kackin & Emre Ciydem & Ozgur Sema Aci & Fatma Yasemin Kutlu, 2021. "Experiences and psychosocial problems of nurses caring for patients diagnosed with COVID-19 in Turkey: A qualitative study," International Journal of Social Psychiatry, , vol. 67(2), pages 158-167, March.
    4. Xiaoyue Gao & Lili Jiang & Yinqing Hu & Li Li & Lili Hou, 2020. "Nurses’ experiences regarding shift patterns in isolation wards during the COVID‐19 pandemic in China: A qualitative study," Journal of Clinical Nursing, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 29(21-22), pages 4270-4280, November.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Citations

    Citations are extracted by the CitEc Project, subscribe to its RSS feed for this item.
    as


    Cited by:

    1. Maysa H. Almomani & Wejdan A. Khater & Laila M. Akhu-Zaheya & Aladeen Alloubani & Safa A. AlAshram & Mohammed Azab & Adeeb K. Al-malkawi, 2022. "Nurses’ Experiences of Caring for Patients with COVID-19: A Qualitative Study," SAGE Open, , vol. 12(4), pages 21582440221, December.
    2. Doris Gebhard & Julia Neumann & Magdalena Wimmer & Filip Mess, 2022. "The Second Side of the Coin—Resilience, Meaningfulness and Joyful Moments in Home Health Care Workers during the COVID-19 Pandemic," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 19(7), pages 1-23, March.
    3. Mariela Loreto Lara-Cabrera & Moisés Betancort & Amparo Muñoz-Rubilar & Natalia Rodríguez-Novo & Ottar Bjerkeset & Carlos De las Cuevas, 2022. "Psychometric Properties of the WHO-5 Well-Being Index among Nurses during the COVID-19 Pandemic: A Cross-Sectional Study in Three Countries," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 19(16), pages 1-13, August.
    4. Gabriela Topa & Mercedes Aranda-Carmena, 2022. "Job Crafting in Nursing: Mediation between Work Engagement and Job Performance in a Multisample Study," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 19(19), pages 1-11, October.

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Ortal Slobodin & Ilia Plochotnikov & Idan-Chaim Cohen & Aviad Elyashar & Odeya Cohen & Rami Puzis, 2022. "Global and Local Trends Affecting the Experience of US and UK Healthcare Professionals during COVID-19: Twitter Text Analysis," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 19(11), pages 1-17, June.
    2. Montserrat Venturas & Judith Prats & Elena Querol & Adelaida Zabalegui & Núria Fabrellas & Paula Rivera & Claudia Casafont & Cecilia Cuzco & Cindy E. Frías & Maria Carmen Olivé & Silvia Pérez-Ortega, 2021. "Lived Experiences of Hospitalized COVID-19 Patients: A Qualitative Study," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 18(20), pages 1-12, October.
    3. Michele Villa & Colette Balice-Bourgois & Angela Tolotti & Anna Falcó-Pegueroles & Serena Barello & Elena Corina Luca & Luca Clivio & Annette Biegger & Dario Valcarenghi & Loris Bonetti, 2021. "Ethical Conflict and Its Psychological Correlates among Hospital Nurses in the Pandemic: A Cross-Sectional Study within Swiss COVID-19 and Non-COVID-19 Wards," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 18(22), pages 1-14, November.
    4. Jesús Maximiliano Granados Villalpando & Humberto Azuara Forcelledo & Jorge Luis Ble Castillo & Alejandro Jiménez Sastré & Isela Esther Juárez Rojop & Viridiana Olvera Hernández & Fernando Enrique May, 2022. "COVID-19, Long COVID Syndrome, and Mental Health Sequelae in a Mexican Population," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 19(12), pages 1-10, June.
    5. Kirsten Barnicot & Rose McCabe & Angeliki Bogosian & Renos Papadopoulos & Mike Crawford & Peter Aitken & Tanja Christensen & Jonathan Wilson & Bonnie Teague & Ravi Rana & Donna Willis & Ryan Barclay &, 2023. "Predictors of Post-Traumatic Growth in a Sample of United Kingdom Mental and Community Healthcare Workers during the COVID-19 Pandemic," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 20(4), pages 1-20, February.
    6. Mónica Leira-Sanmartín & Agustín Madoz-Gúrpide & Enriqueta Ochoa-Mangado & Ángela Ibáñez, 2021. "Psychological Impact of COVID-19 Pandemic and Related Variables: A Cross-Sectional Study in a Sample of Workers in a Spanish Tertiary Hospital," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 18(7), pages 1-10, March.
    7. Natasha Li & Sarah R. Martin & Theodore W. Heyming & Chloe Knudsen-Robbins & Terence Sanger & Zeev N. Kain, 2022. "Recurrent SARS-CoV-2 Serology Testing and Pandemic Anxiety: A Study of Pediatric Healthcare Workers," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 19(15), pages 1-9, August.
    8. Maysa H. Almomani & Wejdan A. Khater & Laila M. Akhu-Zaheya & Aladeen Alloubani & Safa A. AlAshram & Mohammed Azab & Adeeb K. Al-malkawi, 2022. "Nurses’ Experiences of Caring for Patients with COVID-19: A Qualitative Study," SAGE Open, , vol. 12(4), pages 21582440221, December.
    9. Mehran Shayganfard & Fateme Mahdavi & Mohammad Haghighi & Dena Sadeghi-Bahmani & Serge Brand, 2021. "Sources of Health Anxiety for Hospital Staff Working during the Covid-19 Pandemic," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 18(6), pages 1-11, March.
    10. Hasan Erbay, 2024. "The COVID-19 Pandemic Response and Its Impact on Post-Corona Health Emergency and Disaster Risk Management in Türkiye," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 16(2), pages 1-17, January.
    11. Mariela Loreto Lara-Cabrera & Moisés Betancort & C. Amparo Muñoz-Rubilar & Natalia Rodríguez Novo & Carlos De las Cuevas, 2021. "The Mediating Role of Resilience in the Relationship between Perceived Stress and Mental Health," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 18(18), pages 1-10, September.
    12. Ari Shechter & Codruta Chiuzan & Yimeng Shang & Gavin Ko & Franchesca Diaz & Hadiah K. Venner & Kaitlin Shaw & Diane E. Cannone & Cara L. McMurry & Alexandra M. Sullivan & Reynaldo R. Rivera & Courtne, 2021. "Prevalence, Incidence, and Factors Associated with Posttraumatic Stress at Three-Month Follow-Up among New York City Healthcare Workers after the First Wave of the COVID-19 Pandemic," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 19(1), pages 1-11, December.
    13. Sarah AlKandari & Ahmad Salman & Fatima Al-Ghadban & Rasheed Ahmad, 2022. "A Cross-Sectional Study to Examine the Psychological Impact of the COVID-19 Pandemic on Healthcare Workers in Kuwait," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 19(17), pages 1-10, August.
    14. Juan Carlos De Haro & Eva María Rosel & Inmaculada Salcedo-Bellido & Ester Leno-Durán & Pilar Requena & Rocío Barrios-Rodríguez, 2022. "Psychological Impact of COVID-19 in the Setting of Dentistry: A Review Article," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 19(23), pages 1-37, December.
    15. Marcella Paterlini & Erica Neri & Alessia Nicoli & Federica Genova & Maria Teresa Villani & Sara Santi & Francesca Agostini, 2022. "Emotions, Stress and Coping among Healthcare Workers in a Reproductive Medicine Unit during the First and Second COVID-19 Lockdowns," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 19(10), pages 1-16, May.
    16. Ana María Rodríguez-López & Susana Rubio-Valdehita, 2021. "COVID-19 Concerns and Personality of Commerce Workers: Its Influence on Burnout," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 13(22), pages 1-15, November.
    17. Georgia Libera Finstad & Gabriele Giorgi & Lucrezia Ginevra Lulli & Caterina Pandolfi & Giulia Foti & José M. León-Perez & Francisco J. Cantero-Sánchez & Nicola Mucci, 2021. "Resilience, Coping Strategies and Posttraumatic Growth in the Workplace Following COVID-19: A Narrative Review on the Positive Aspects of Trauma," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 18(18), pages 1-25, September.
    18. Maryam Masoumi & Kamyar Shokraee & Somayeh Mohammadi & Soroush Moradi & Mohammad Bagherzade & Javad Balasi & Abbas Smiley, 2021. "Sleep Duration as the Main Indicator of Self-Rated Wellness and Health among Healthcare Workers Involved in the COVID-19 Pandemic," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 19(1), pages 1-10, December.
    19. Iwona Malinowska-Lipień & Tadeusz Wadas & Joanna Sułkowska & Magdalena Suder & Teresa Gabryś & Maria Kózka & Agnieszka Gniadek & Tomasz Brzostek, 2021. "Emotional Control among Nurses against Work Conditions and the Support Received during the SARS-CoV-2 Pandemic," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 18(17), pages 1-16, September.
    20. Nishant Raj Kapoor & Ashok Kumar & Anuj Kumar & Dilovan Asaad Zebari & Krishna Kumar & Mazin Abed Mohammed & Alaa S. Al-Waisy & Marwan Ali Albahar, 2022. "Event-Specific Transmission Forecasting of SARS-CoV-2 in a Mixed-Mode Ventilated Office Room Using an ANN," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 19(24), pages 1-27, December.

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:gam:jijerp:v:18:y:2021:i:24:p:12975-:d:698171. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: MDPI Indexing Manager (email available below). General contact details of provider: https://www.mdpi.com .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.