SARS-CoV-2 infection and COVID-19: The lived experience and perceptions of patients in isolation and care in an Australian healthcare setting

Abstract

Background

Isolation and quarantine are key measures in outbreak management and disease control. They are, however, associated with negative patient experiences and outcomes, including an adverse impact on mental health and lower quality of care due to limited interaction with healthcare workers. In this study, we explore the lived experience and perceptions of patients in isolation with COVID-19 in an Australian healthcare setting.

Methods

Using a phenomenological approach from a Heideggerian hermeneutical perspective, we conducted individual semi-structured interviews with the first eleven COVID-19 patients admitted to a designated COVID-19 facility in Australia. Interviews were audio-recorded, transcribed verbatim and imported into NVivo 12 for coding and analysis.

Results

Participants’ lived experience and perceptions of COVID-19 were represented by five themes: ‘Knowing about COVID-19’, ‘Planning for, and responding to, COVID-19’, ‘Being infected’, ‘Life in isolation and the room’, and ‘Post-discharge life’. Within these, participants conveyed both positive and negative lived experiences of infection, isolation and illness. The contextual aspects of their social and physical environment together with their individual resources contributed to the framing of their planning for, and response to, the outbreak, and were important mediators in their experience.

Conclusion

Findings from this study provide a valuable insight into the lived experiences of patients with COVID-19, which reflect those of patients with other infectious diseases who require isolation.

Journal

Journal ID (nlm-ta): Am J Infect Control

Journal ID (iso-abbrev): Am J Infect Control

Title: American Journal of Infection Control

Publisher: Published by Elsevier Inc. on behalf of Association for Professionals in Infection Control and Epidemiology, Inc.

ISSN (Print): 0196-6553

ISSN (Electronic): 1527-3296

Publication date PMC-release: 2 September 2020

Publication date (Electronic): 2 September 2020

Affiliations

[1 ]Marie Bashir Institute for Infectious Diseases and Biosecurity, University of Sydney, Camperdown, NSW, Australia

[2 ]Susan Wakil School of Nursing and Midwifery, Faculty of Medicine and Health, University of Sydney, Camperdown, NSW, Australia

[3 ]Department of Infectious Diseases and Sexual Health, Division of Medicine and Cancer Services, Westmead Hospital, Western Sydney Local Health District, Westmead, NSW, Australia

[4 ]Nursing, Midwifery and Clinical Governance Directorate, Western Sydney Local Health District, Westmead, NSW, Australia

[5 ]Sydney Medical School, Faculty of Medicine and Health, University of Sydney, Camperdown, NSW, Australia

[6 ]Westmead Clinical School, Faculty of Medicine and Health, The University of Sydney, Westmead, NSW Australia

[7 ]Westmead Hospital, Western Sydney Local Health District, Westmead, NSW, Australia

[8 ]Public Health Unit, Centre for Population Health, Western Sydney Local Health District, North Parramatta, NSW, Australia

Author notes

[* ]CORRESPONDING AUTHOR. Professor Ramon Z. Shaban, University of Sydney and Western Sydney Local Health District, Office: 0.4.20, Westmead Institute for Medical Research, 176 Hawkesbury Road, Westmead NSW 21645. Australia. Ph: [phone]; Mobile: [phone]

Article

Publisher ID: S0196-6553(20)30837-3

DOI: 10.1016/j.ajic.2020.08.032

PMC ID: 7466942

Copyright statement: © 2020 Published by Elsevier Inc. on behalf of Association for Professionals in Infection Control and Epidemiology, Inc.

License:

Since January 2020 Elsevier has created a COVID-19 resource centre with free information in English and Mandarin on the novel coronavirus COVID-19. The COVID-19 resource centre is hosted on Elsevier Connect, the company's public news and information website. Elsevier hereby grants permission to make all its COVID-19-related research that is available on the COVID-19 resource centre - including this research content - immediately available in PubMed Central and other publicly funded repositories, such as the WHO COVID database with rights for unrestricted research re-use and analyses in any form or by any means with acknowledgement of the original source. These permissions are granted for free by Elsevier for as long as the COVID-19 resource centre remains active.

Categories

Subject: Article