. "Open" Covid-19 ICU and the emotional impact on nurses: a qualitative study.
Introduction: The Covid-19 pandemic has led hospitals to introduce restrictions on family visits at all levels of care. Intensive care units have suffered an increase in bed space and workload, closing to family visits. Health care personal, especially nurses, have experienced significant psycho-physical stress during the Covid-19 pandemic waves.
Aim: To describe and investigate the experiences and the emotional impact of nurses who have experienced the Covid-19 ICU open to family visits.
Methods: Phenomenological qualitative study through the use of semi-structured interviews.
Results: From the interviews made to ten nurses, five themes emerged: reactions to the admission of family members, the active role of the family member, the effect of the visits on hospitalized patients, the return to normality, and the admission of family members as a therapeutic act. After an initial concern about the spread of infection, the nurses have welcomed with satisfaction the opening of ICU Covid-19 to visits. The entry of family members into the Covid-19 ICU was perceived as a facilitating factor for the patient's course and care.
Conclusions: The humanization of care is a delicate process: in our study a strong emotional impact has emerged on the nursing staff, which produced joy, satisfaction and contentment, and even more on the impulse and the strength to continue doing their work. This organizational model has restored a kind of normality to patients, their families and health workers, despite the ongoing pandemic.