Abstract
Background: COVID-19 infection was identified in 2019 and has reached pandemic stage. Historically, quarantine has been used to curb the spread of epidemics and is presently being used in Saudi Arabia for this purpose. Little is known about the impact on professional nurses practicing in this setting although preliminary discussion of this and the H1N1 pandemic of 2009 suggested that special training and consideration of special needs of nurses in this environment are needed. The aim of the present study is to explore the caring experience of Saudi Arabian nurses who are manning the quarantines.
Methods: Nurses employed in these centres were recruited via e-mail from lists provided by the Ministry of Health. Among those approached, 8 professional Saudi nurses were individually interviewed in March, 2019 via telephone. Informed consent was obtained. Transcripts of interviews were transcribed, inductive themes extracted, and analysed via NVivo software to form a conceptual framework of the quarantine experience.
Results: Perspectives communicated by the participants illuminated 6 main themes: Administrative Concerns, Nursing Roles, Patient Perspectives, Personal and Emotional Aspects, Training, and Special COVID-19 Quarantine Care Needs which together composed the central theme: Breaking the Wave.
Conclusions: Professional needs and personal challenges faced by nurses during the delivery of care for quarantine and disasters may supply a valuable perspective to this aspect of practice and may assist in providing useful considerations for preparation to meet challenges of this type including nursing education and training in administration, infection control. health education, and disaster management.