Transmission of chickenpox to two intensive care unit nurses from a liver transplant patient with zoster

ABSTRACT Objective: To understand the experiences of intensive care unit nurses who provide care to patients with COVID-19. Methods: Qualitative study grounded in Alfred Schütz’s social phenomenology in which 20 nurses who work in intensive care units at public and private hospitals were interviewed between July and September 2020. Data were analyzed according to the adopted theoretical-methodological framework and the literature related to the subject. Results: The interviewed nurses mentioned demands about working conditions, professional recognition and training, and support to physical and mental health, which proved necessary considering the care intensity experienced by these professionals during the COVID-19 pandemic. Conclusion: Learning the nurses’ experiences evidenced the need to adjust to a new way of providing care that included the physical space, new institutional protocols, continuous use of protective equipment, and patients’ demand for special care. This originated the necessity to be around situations that interfered with their health and motivated them to carry out professional projects after the COVID-19 pandemic.

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Quantifying Occupational Stress in Intensive Care Unit Nurses: An Applied Naturalistic Study of Correlations Among Stress, Heart Rate, Electrodermal Activity, and Skin Temperature

Human Factors The Journal of the Human Factors and Ergonomics Society ◽

10.1177/00187208211040889 ◽

2021 ◽

pp. 001872082110408

Author(s):

Nima Ahmadi ◽

Farzan Sasangohar ◽

Tariq Nisar ◽

Valerie Danesh ◽

Ethan Larsen ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Intensive Care Unit ◽

Heart Rate ◽

Intensive Care ◽

Skin Temperature ◽

Electrodermal Activity ◽

Laboratory Research ◽

Prior Literature ◽

High Level ◽

Intensive Care Unit Nurses ◽

Skin Temperatures

Objective To identify physiological correlates to stress in intensive care unit nurses. Background Most research on stress correlates are done in laboratory environments; naturalistic investigation of stress remains a general gap. Method Electrodermal activity, heart rate, and skin temperatures were recorded continuously for 12-hr nursing shifts (23 participants) using a wrist-worn wearable technology (Empatica E4). Results Positive correlations included stress and heart rate (ρ = .35, p < .001), stress and skin temperature (ρ = .49, p < .05), and heart rate and skin temperatures (ρ = .54, p = .0008). Discussion The presence and direction of some correlations found in this study differ from those anticipated from prior literature, illustrating the importance of complementing laboratory research with naturalistic studies. Further work is warranted to recognize nursing activities associated with a high level of stress and the underlying reasons associated with changes in physiological responses. Application Heart rate and skin temperature may be used for real-time detection of stress, but more work is needed to validate such surrogate measures.

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