Nursing care for hospitalized patients with COVID-19 in light of Fundamental Care.
Fabieli Borges, Elizabeth Bernardino, Camila Rorato and 4 others
PMID 40298694WHAT IT FOUND
Nurses described shifting from full bedside care to prioritized safety tasks during the pandemic.
Bed baths became dry wipes to avoid patient instability. Emotional support and family contact were maintained through video calls, but physical and psychosocial care were often compromised.
Key findings
01Nurses reported that providing fundamental care, particularly physical hygiene, was difficult due to patient severity and hemodynamic risks.
02Video calls were used as a primary tool to maintain relational care and bonding with patients and their families when physical visits were restricted.
03Psychosocial care was less neglected than physical care, but nurses struggled to provide normal levels of emotional support due to their own fear and fatigue.
STILL TO COME
How it was doneWhat they foundWhat it means for RNs
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What it does not show
The study was conducted in a single public teaching hospital, so the findings may not apply to other healthcare settings. The participants were nurses only, so the perspectives of other healthcare professionals or patients were not included. The study relied on self-reported experiences from interviews, which may be subject to recall bias. The sample size of 24 nurses, while sufficient for qualitative saturation, limits the generalizability of the specific challenges described.
Declared interests
The study was supported by non-U.S. government funding. The authors declared no conflicts of interest.
The easy way to misread this
Do not interpret these findings as evidence that fundamental care is ineffective or that nurses neglect patients. The study describes how nurses adapted care practices under extreme pressure to maintain patient safety, not a failure of nursing standards.