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Updated: Oct 24, 2025
Isolation and Identification of Waterborne Antibiotic-Resistant Bacteria and Molecular Characterization of their Antibiotic Resistance Genes
Published on: March 3, 2023
A phenomenological exploration of source isolation in patients infected with multi-drug resistant organisms
Gift A Mutsonziwa1, Jennifer Green2, Jennifer Blundell2
1Faculty of Nursing & Midwifery, University of Western Sydney, Sydney, NSW, Australia.
Background:
The physical isolation of patients colonised or infected with multi-drug resistant organisms is a requirement in hospitals considering the risk of infecting other patients, healthcare workers and visitors. However, how these patients experience isolation in the current environment is not fully understood from the literature.
Aims:
To explore and interpret the lived experience of the source isolation in patients infected with MDROs within an Australian setting.
Design:
Hermeneutic phenomenology was utilised as the philosophical framework.
Methods:
Unstructured in-depth face to face interviews were conducted with 20 patients infected with multi-drug resistant organisms who were physically isolated. Data was collected from February-2018 to January-2019 at two large teaching hospitals in the Sydney metropolitan area. The interviews were recorded, transcribed verbatim, analysed using thematic analysis by three researchers, and then subsequently interpreted, drawing insights from the relevant phenomenological notions.
Results:
Three key findings emerged from the study as: Living in a changed space - developed from the participants' struggle to cope with being physically confined to a room that made them feel imprisoned. Living in a changed body - emerged from the participants who described their bodies as 'different' because of bacteria that conventional medicine could not destroy permanently but kept relapsing. Striving to survive - developed from participants who spoke about means of enduring some unfavourable experiences.
Conclusion:
The essence of the lived experience of the phenomenon of source isolation from the perspectives of patients who become infected with MDROs emerged as Being-in-a-changed-world.
Impact:
While source isolation is an important procedure for preventing and controlling transmissible infection; it often results in adverse psychological experiences. An understanding of this finding from the patients' perspectives is essential for nurses and other healthcare workers involved in their care to maintain a balance between infection control isolation and psychological needs.
Insights
Patients infected with multi-drug resistant organisms experience isolation as a "changed world," impacting their sense of space, body, and survival. Understanding these psychological effects is crucial for balancing infection control with patient well-being.
Area of Science:
- Medical Microbiology
- Patient Experience Research
- Psychological Health
Background:
- Hospitalized patients with multi-drug resistant organisms (MDROs) require physical isolation to prevent transmission.
- The lived experience of patients undergoing source isolation is not well-documented.
- Understanding patient perspectives is vital for effective healthcare delivery.
Purpose of the Study:
- To explore and interpret the lived experience of source isolation in patients infected with MDROs.
- To gain insights into the psychological and social impact of isolation on patients.
- To inform healthcare practices regarding patient isolation.
Main Methods:
- Hermeneutic phenomenology philosophical framework.
- Unstructured, in-depth face-to-face interviews with 20 isolated patients.
- Thematic analysis of verbatim transcripts, interpreted through phenomenological concepts.
Main Results:
- Patients described 'living in a changed space,' feeling imprisoned by physical confinement.
- Participants reported 'living in a changed body,' perceiving themselves as different due to untreatable bacteria.
- A key theme was 'striving to survive,' reflecting coping mechanisms for adverse experiences.
Conclusions:
- The essence of the experience was 'Being-in-a-changed-world.'
- Source isolation, while necessary for infection control, can lead to adverse psychological outcomes.
- Healthcare professionals must balance infection control measures with patients' psychological needs.
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