Caregivers' Perception of the Caring challenges in Coronavirus (COVID-19) Crisis: A Qualitative Study

Background: The medical personnel act as the guardians of people's health by preventing, controlling, and curing emerging diseases, including coronavirus, a highly infectious and contagious disease which has presented the caregivers in the Iranian healthcare system with many clinical challenges. The aim in present study was to describe the caregivers’ experiences of the caring challenges in patients with coronavirus (COVID-19). Methods The present study is a qualitative work with a phenomenological-descriptive design. Data were collected via semi-structured, in-depth, individual interviews. The collected data was analyzed according to Colaizzi's method. The participants were 23 members of the medical staff responsible for coronavirus patients in Iran who met the inclusion criteria. The participants were selected via purposeful sampling which was continued to the point of data saturation. The study lasted from February to May2020. Results The results yielded 3 main themes “invasion of psychological tension”, “inefficient management”, and “contextual factors” with 11 categories. Conclusion In dealing with coronavirus patients and providing quality care to them, medical personnel face a variety of clinical challenges which affect their performance. Administrators must, alongside giving instructions to people on how to prevent the coronavirus disease and taking effective security measures, make sure that clinical centers are managed efficiently in order for medical personnel to fulfill their caring objectives satisfactorily.