Ms Penelope Dempster, Professor Anastasia (Ana) Hutchinson, Dr Elizabeth Oldland, Dr Stéphane Bouchoucha
Abstract: The COVID-19 pandemic has challenged health care professionals and changed our approach to the delivery of patient care. Experience during the COVID-19 has highlighted the need to better understand and manage the challenges relating to the use of personal protective equipment (PPE) experienced by frontline health care workers.
Aims: To explore and describe nurses’ experience with the use of personal protective equipment in the Emergency Department (ED), during the COVID-19 pandemic in Australia.
Design: A qualitative explorative descriptive design was used.
Methods: Participants were 24 nurses (clinical and managerial). One focus group and 21 individual semi-structured interviews were conducted between January and April 2022. Qualitative descriptive thematic analysis was used to identify themes, elicit meaning and communicate findings using Braun and Clarke’s six steps as the guiding framework.
Results: Five main themes identified: (i) The shifting ground of the COVID pandemic response, (ii) Disconnect between the ED team and organisational leaders (iii) Working in PPE causes exhaustion, physical discomfort and injury (iv) Challenges providing safe patient care (v) Discrete event with timeless consequences.
Conclusion: This study evidenced an array of adverse effects and staff concerns arising from use of personal protective equipment during the COVID-19 pandemic response in 2020-22. Experiences during the pandemic highlighted a long standing and urgent need to bolster the nurse workforce particularly in emergency nursing. Innovation is needed in PPE design to increase both protection from novel pathogens and user comfort.
Keywords: Registered Nurse, Emergency Department, Personal Protective Equipment, COVID-19 pandemic, Australia
Biography: Critical Care Registered Nurse undertaking a Master in Advanced Nursing Practice (Research).
Clinical background working in Intensive Care Unit (ICU)and Emergency Department (ED).
Currently working in a private Emergency Department.