Abstract

Background: The critical care unit nurses, who are on the front lines of fighting COVID-19 and defusing the crisis, encounter a variety of problems when providing care to COVID-19 patients. Objective: To investigate the difficulties encountered by ICU nurses during the provision of care for COVID-19 patients. Methods: In this qualitative descriptive study, 13 nurses working in intensive care units were chosen using purposive sampling. Data were gathered through semi-structured face-to-face interviews. After recording and transcribing the interviews, the concepts were retrieved using the content analysis method. Results: The nurses cited the four following problems in providing care for COVID-19 patients: Lack of institutional support’ overburden, 'living with ambiguity, and 'psychological threat due to novice disease’. Conclusion: The present study portrayed a clear understanding of the challenges faced by nurses working in intensive care units during the crisis of the COVID-19 pandemic based on their lived experiences.