2022 Volume 42 Pages 559-567
Objective: To clarify the thoughts of nurses before and after returning to work following infection with coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) in the early stages of the pandemic, as well as the factors affecting these thoughts, and obtain suggestions regarding return-to-work support for nurses infected with newly emerging infectious diseases.
Methods: Semi-structured interviews were conducted with 13 nurses who had been infected with COVID-19 while working at Hospital A and consented to participate in this study. The data obtained were qualitatively and inductively analyzed.
Results: Before returning to work, the nurses experienced “conflicts about returning to work” between hesitation and anticipation. After returning to work, they had “a sense of fulfillment” while experiencing “continuing anxiety even after returning and dissatisfaction with the hospital’s responses.” The persistence of hesitation before returning to work was a factor that reinforced their anxiety and dissatisfaction after returning. The nurses working on an infectious disease ward were willing to apply their experience of being infected to the care of their patients.
Conclusions: Before returning to work, nurses experienced conflicts, and after returning to work, they experienced contradictory feelings of a sense of fulfillment and anxiety and dissatisfaction. These findings suggest that hospitals can help nurses maintain a sense of responsibility by understanding their suffering and improving their working environment, and that such support can help nurses to not only return to work, but also continue working.
