Experience of Chinese Countermarching Nurses with COVID-19 Patients' Death in Wuhan: A Qualitative Study

Abstract

Abstract Background: The COVID-19 pandemic was occurring worldwide with over a 6.5million deaths. It’s important to explore the instructions for the global nursing community by identifying the personal coping methods of Chinese nurses in Wuhan to deal with patient deaths. Methodology: A qualitative phenomenological study was designed to describe 14 Chinese nurses' COVID-19 patient death experiences through in-depth interviews in April 2022, data were analyzed by conventional content analysis methods. Results: Four themes and subthemes were generated in which participants reported their contacts with COVID-19 patients’ death. The main themes were psychological shock, psychological adjustment, and demands, insights into life and values, and the need for relevant knowledge and skills. Conclusions: The study provided evidence of nurses‘ psychological and professional needs regarding patient deaths during the epidemic. The instructions integrated from nurses' stories could give guidance for a well-prepared global nursing workforce and high-quality end-of-life patient care in the present and future epidemics.