Post-COVID-19 pandemic lived experiences of nurses about evidence-based care: A phenomenological study

During the COVID-19 pandemic, nursing care was very complicated and confusing due to the special conditions of this time period and due to the lack of objective evidence to provide evidence-based nursing care. The purpose of this study was to post-COVID-19 investigate nurses' lived experiences of evidence-based care in Iran.

This research was conducted through a qualitative approach using Husserli's descriptive phenomenological method. The participants included nurses working in the wards of COVID-19. Sampling in this study was conducted using a targeted method. People were selected based on inclusion and exclusion criteria. A code of ethics and necessary permits were received. Data collection was performed using unstructured interviews. The time of the interviews varied between 30 and 60 minutes. All interviews were recorded and then transcribed. The method proposed by Colaizzi was used for data analysis. Lincoln and Guba's criteria were used for the accuracy and robustness of the data. Also, MAXQDA software was used for data management.

The main themes and sub-themes in this study include barriers (lack of mastery in searching for evidence, lack of prioritization of evidence-based care, lack of availability of sufficient evidence, and the complexity of the condition of the COVID-19 disease) and facilitators (need for new evidence, a different care context, the need for extensive training, and the need to improve the nursing care).

The findings of this research showed that based on the experiences of nurses, there are still barriers to patient care after the COVID-19 pandemic, and in addition, there are facilitators that are effective in the development of evidence-based care. We recommend that based on examining barriers and facilitators in this study, necessary planning should be performed to conduct applied research, develop clinical regulations, and better manage patients in the future.