Seven lessons from the coronavirus pandemic for primary health care: A qualitative study of registered and assistant nurses in Sweden

Abstract

Aim: The aim of this study was to explore lessons from the pandemic by registered and assistant nurses in Swedish primary health care (PHC) of potential relevance for the future operation of PHC.

Methods: Twenty-one semi-structured interviews were conducted with registered and assistant nurses. We used a purposeful sampling strategy to achieve a diverse sample with regard to size and location of PHC centres. Data were analysed using qualitative content analysis.

Results: Analysis yielded two categories: lessons from the pandemic pertaining to PHC personnel and patient behaviours (adaptability of the personnel; importance of hygiene and maintaining physical distance; and importance of being attentive to illness symptoms) and lessons from the pandemic related to primary healthcare work routines (effectiveness of digital job meetings; advantages of digital patient consultations; importance of keeping infectious patients separate from other patients; and the need to allow only pre-booked patient appointments).

Conclusions: The seven sub-categories represent seven lessons from the pandemic. The lessons generated both instrumental knowledge, which the nurses could apply in work-related decisions, and conceptual knowledge which yielded improved understanding of problems and potential solutions for PHC.

Keywords: change; coronavirus; learning; pandemic; primary health care.