Division of Nursing, Department of Neurobiology, Care Sciences and Society, Karolinska Institutet, Huddinge, Sweden.
Division of Clinical Pharmacology, Department of Laboratory Medicine, Karolinska Institutet, Karolinska University Hospital, Stockholm, Sweden.
Int J Older People Nurs. 2023 Jan;18(1):e12498. doi: 10.1111/opn.12498. Epub 2022 Aug 17.
NHs have been severely exposed during the COVID-19 pandemic. Little is known about how staff who provide practical daily care of older residents experienced work during the pandemic. The aim of this study was to understand how nursing assistants (NAs) experienced their work at nursing homes (NHs) for older people during the first wave of the COVID-19 pandemic.
We conducted a qualitative study of focus group discussions with in total 20 participants from four NHs in Stockholm, Sweden. Discussions were held in November 2020. Transcripts were analyzed using inductive thematic analysis.
We identified three major themes: 1) We felt abandoned, scared and disrespected, 2) We made sure we made it through, and 3) We can do good work with appropriate resources. NAs felt disregarded as they were often left alone without adequate support from managers, registered nurses and the municipalities. NAs felt distressed and guilty and developed their own strategies to cope and manage their work.
During the first wave of the COVID-19 pandemic NAs felt abandoned and burdened due to lack of leadership. Organizational improvements are required to protect the wellbeing of NAs and to ensure sustainability of patient safety. NAs are crucial in the care for vulnerable older people and their experiences should constitute a keystone for development of future policy and practice in NHs.
在 COVID-19 大流行期间，NHs 受到了严重冲击。目前对于在大流行期间为老年居民提供日常护理的工作人员的工作体验知之甚少。本研究旨在了解在 COVID-19 大流行的第一波期间，护理助理（NA）在养老院（NH）中为老年人护理时的工作体验。
我们对来自瑞典斯德哥尔摩的四家 NH 的共 20 名护理人员进行了焦点小组讨论的定性研究。讨论于 2020 年 11 月进行。使用归纳主题分析对转录本进行分析。
我们确定了三个主要主题：1）我们感到被抛弃、恐惧和不被尊重，2）我们确保度过难关，3）我们可以通过适当的资源做好工作。由于缺乏管理人员、注册护士和市政府的支持，NA 经常被单独留下，他们感到被忽视。NA 感到痛苦和内疚，并制定了自己的应对策略来管理他们的工作。
在 COVID-19 大流行的第一波期间，由于缺乏领导力，NA 感到被抛弃和负担过重。需要进行组织改进，以保护 NA 的福祉并确保患者安全的可持续性。NA 在照顾弱势老年人方面至关重要，他们的经验应成为 NH 未来政策和实践发展的基石。
