Background: Although many studies have addressed COVID-19, the challenges faced by nurses in their workplace after recovering from this disease have not been investigated. As the backbone of the health system and at the forefront of the fight against COVID-19, nurses are exposed to serious risks of infection and even death. They may also face numerous challenges in their workplace after recovering from COVID-19. It is therefore ethically recommended that the problems of these nurses be solved to increase their job (...) satisfaction and encourage them to remain in their profession. Objectives: The present research was conducted to determine the workplace challenges faced by nurses who had recovered from COVID-19. Methods: This qualitative study was conducted using the interpretive phenomenological approach proposed by van Manen. The data collected through 17 in-depth semi-structured interviews with 14 eligible nurses at different occupational levels were analyzed using the six steps proposed by van Manen. These nurses had also recovered from COVID-19. Ethical considerations: This study was approved by the Ethics Committee of Urmia University of Medical Sciences. Findings: Four themes and 20 subthemes extracted from analyzing the data explained the challenges faced by the nurses after their return to work. The themes included declined ethical values, infected nurses, forgotten patients, gradually leaving the job, and corona phobia. Conclusion: The present findings can be used to lay the foundations for adopting humanitarian policies in health organizations in terms of ethical care provision during future pandemics. (shrink)

Background: Dignity is a fundamental concept that has been threatened by the COVID-19 pandemic. Several factors threaten the dignity of COVID-19 patients, whether in palliative care departments, medical or surgery wards, intensive care units, or long-term care facilities. This threat is exacerbated by the increasing number of affected patients, the high transmission of the virus and problems such as limited resources, shortage of workforce, and ineffective communication. Recognizing the threats and challenges that currently affect the patients’ dignity and managing them (...) can help maintain the patients’ dignity and increase their satisfaction. Research objective: This study seeks to explain the threats to the dignity of hospitalized COVID-19 patients. Research design: This qualitative study was conducted using conventional content analysis. Data were collected through in-depth, semi-structured, face-to-face interviews with 21 COVID-19 patients with maximum variation. Data were analyzed using Graneheim and Lundman’s conventional content analysis and encoded with MAXQDA-10 software. The participants had already recovered from COVID-19 when the interviews were held. Ethical considerations: The study protocol was approved by the Research Ethics Committee of medical universities in northwestern Iran (IR.UMSU.REC.1399.345). Ethical principles were observed during the study. Findings: The analysis of the interviews revealed three main categories and 11 subcategories for the threats to the dignity of COVID-19 patients. The main categories included facing imposed conditions (five subcategories), facing unprofessional performance (four subcategories), and ineffective communication (two subcategories). Conclusion: The findings of the present study can help health officials and policymakers in taking positive steps to maintain patients’ dignity by designing and implementing beneficial programs. (shrink)