Nurses' ethical challenges caring for people with COVID-19: A qualitative study

Ethical challenges are common in clinical nursing practice, and an infectious environment could put nurses under ethical challenges more easily, which may cause nurses to submit to negative emotions and psychological pressure, damaging their mental health.

To examine the ethical challenges encountered by nurses caring for patients with the novel coronavirus pneumonia (COVID-19) and to provide nurses with suggestions and support regarding promotion of their mental health.

A qualitative study was carried out using a qualitative content analysis. The participants were 18 nurses who agreed to attend an interview and describe their own experiences of providing care to COVID-19 patients in China. They were purposively sampled, and structured, in-depth interviews were performed. Data were iteratively collected and analyzed from February to March 2020.

The proposal was approved by the Research Ethics Committee of the Second Hospital of Shandong University, China.

The findings revealed three main themes and 10 categories. The themes were the following: (1) ethical challenges (people with COVID-19, inequality, professional ethics, and job competency); (2) coping styles (active control and planning, seeking support as well as catharsis, and staying focused); and (3) impacts on career (specialized nursing skills, scientific research ability, and management skills).

Nurses faced ethical challenges on multiple fronts in caring for COVID-19 patients. The results may help nurses with more safety, ethics, and humanistic care in nursing practice.