“Nursing During the COVID‐19 Outbreak”: Study Aims, and Key Characteristics

For today’s discussion, I want to offer a review of a phenomenological study by Arcadi et al. (2021) titled Nursing during the COVID‐19 outbreak: A phenomenological study. The study aimed at examining the phenomenon of nursing and changes in the understanding of the concept of nursing during the pandemic. The researchers conducted 20 semi-structured interviews to collect data and thematic analysis to extract themes central to all interviews. The results revealed four roles, including uncertainty and fear, alteration of perceptions of time and space, change in the meaning of ‘to care’, and changes in roles and relationships. The researchers concluded that psychological support and emergency training could help to prevent stress and address compassion fatigue.

 

The aim of the study is aligned with the utilized methods. The purpose of the study was to explore the experience of Italian nurses engaged in caring for patients with COVID‐19 during the outbreak period. Alase (2017) states that phenomenological studies allow “the interviewees (research participants) to express themselves and their ‘lived experience’ stories the way they see fit without any distortion and/or prosecution” (p. 9). According to Gray and Grove (2021), the phenomenological approach is the most appropriate one for achieving the purpose of the research, while all other qualitative methods, including narrative studies, grounded theory, ethnographic studies, and case studies, are inappropriate for describing people’s experiences. The researchers do not utilize any theoretical framework.

 

The researchers provide a detailed explanation of the data collection methods. They include the interview questions and protocols so that the study can be easily replicated. At the same time, Arcadi et al. (2021) described the process of data analysis in sufficient detail to reproduce the study step by step. In summary, the research under analysis is an excellent example of a well-organized phenomenological study.

References

Alase, A. (2017). The interpretative phenomenological analysis (IPA): A guide to a good qualitative research approach. International Journal of Education and Literacy Studies, 5(2), 9-19.

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