COVID-19 Pandemic Related Challenges and Nurses’ Work Lives

Written by Amita Avadhani, Rubab Qureshi, & Peijia Zha

doi: https://doi.org/10.13178/jnparr.

Abstract

Background: Nurses as frontline healthcare workers (HCWs) were at the forefront of managing the Coronavirus Disease-19 (COVID-19) pandemic. From the outside, nursing during the peak of the pandemic appeared to be strenuous physical work and long hours caring for those with COVID-19. A plethora of additional secondary challenges that resulted from the excessive physical work, deficient resources, and overstressed healthcare systems significantly added to the magnitude of the impact of COVID-19. As a result, the way nurses conducted their practice changed significantly. The co-interaction of the work, personal and social-environmental as well as other associated challenges contributed to the overall quality of work lives (QWL). Perception of QWL has the potential to influence overall job satisfaction. Understanding the challenges is the first step in addressing the challenges. It is imperative for nurse leaders and administrators to understand the challenges faced by nurses during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Objective: The purpose of this study was to examine how COVID-19 had changed work for nurses and the challenges they faced during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Methods: A cross-sectional design was used to collect data about the QWL of nurses and related challenges during the 2020 SARS COVID-19 pandemic in New Jersey.

Results: Personal and professional challenges faced by the nurses’ included disproportionate staffing, high workload, and lack of resources to do their job. Lack of educational resources was the most faced challenge by nurses.

Conclusions: While some of the challenges were beyond administrative control due to the disproportionate and unexpected increase in the caseloads, the incorporation of strategies to address these challenges has implications for future preparedness and support for the nursing workforce which is facing an acute crisis on top of the pre-existing nursing shortages.

Keywords: COVID-19 pandemic, quality of work lives (QWL), Nurses’ QWL, COVID-19 related challenges