Authors

María Romeu-Labayen1, María Jiménez Herrera2, Martí Subías-Miquel3, Bruna Àlvarez4, Glòria Tort-Nasarre5, Paola Galbany-Estragués6

Position

1Doctora por la Universitat de Lérida. Grupo de investigación AFIN. Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona. Departamento de Enfermería de Salud Pública, Salud Mental y Materno-infantil. Universitat de Barcelona. España2Doctora por la Universitat Rovira i Virgili. Departamento de Enfermería. Universitat Rovira i Virgili. Tarragona (España)3Especialista en Enfermería por la UDM Parc Sanitari Sant Joan de Déu. Grupo de investigación AFIN. Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona. Centro de Salud Mental de Adultos Ciutat Vella, Barcelona (España)4Doctora por la Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona. Grupo de investigación AFIN. Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona. España5Doctora por la Universidad de Barcelona. Grupo de investigación AFIN. Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona. CAP Calaf. SAP Anoia. Gerencia Territorial Cataluña Central. Institut Català de la Salut. Departamento de Enfermería y Fisioterapia. Facultad de Enfermería y Fisioterapia. Universitat de Lleida. Lérida (España)6Doctora por la Universitat de Barcelona. Grupo de investigación AFIN. Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona. Departamento de Enfermería Fundamental y Medicoquirúrgica. Universitat de Barcelona. España

Contact address

María Romeu Labayen. Grupo de Investigación AFIN. C/ Vila i Puig s/n. 08193 Cerdanyola del Vallès, Barcelona (España).

Contact email: maria.romeu1@gmail.com

Abstract

Objective: the main objective was to identify the ethical conflicts faced by Nursing professionals during the COVID-19 pandemic in Spain in their professional setting.
Method: a qualitative study was conducted through ethnography in order to approach the experience lived by Nursing professionals working in Spain during the first wave of the COVID-19 pandemic. Intentional sampling was used to select 33 participants, who were contacted to participate in non-structured online interviews. Data analysis was conducted with a thematic approach which involved the identification of units of meaning and the generation of codes.
Results: the study included 29 Nursing professionals, mostly women, working at a hospital. Three main ethical conflicts were identified. The first was related to “Prioritization by age: conflict in equitable treatment”, which came up due to limited resources and difficult decision making. The second conflict was called “Dying alone: a conflict with the humane treatment of patients”, because relatives could not accompany patients at the end of their lives due to visiting restrictions. The third conflict was: “Care with (in)security: the conflict of putting patients, nurses and relatives at risk”, associated with the lack of protection materials, which generated fear of potential contagion both in the professional and the family setting.
Conclusion: the identification of these ethical conflicts underlines the need to redirect the ethics of healthcare for future pandemics by health center managers.

Keywords:

Ethics; Nursing; ethics; clinical; ethics; professional; health equity; COVID-19; qualitative researchinterview

Versión en Español

Título:

Conflictos éticos en los cuidados de Enfermería durante la pandemia por COVID-19