Lived Experiences of Patients with COVID-19 in the Kurdistan Region, Iraq: A Qualitative Study

Abstract

Background and objective: COVID-19 has adverse effects on physical and mental health and threatens the quality of life significantly; therefore, it is necessary to help COVID-19 patients with their lifestyle, which is tightly bound to the quality of their lives. The present study aims to develop plans to improve the quality of life among COVID-19 patients by an-alyzing their lived experiences. Methods and patients: The present qualitative study was conducted from August to Sep-tember 2020 on twelve COVID-19 patients hospitalized in Erbil’s Emirates Hospital, the Kurdistan Region of Iraq. In-depth semi-structured interviews (12) were utilized to collect data. Trustworthiness was ensured by making an excellent prolonged relationship with the patients, peer-checking, member-checking, and implementing experts’ suggestion at every stage. Four main themes were extracted from the interviews, which were transcribed ver-batim and analyzed using the six methodological activities proposed by Van Manen. Results: The present study results indicated that COVID-19 patients have a difficult time dealing with the disease and getting adapted to their new situation, leading to a remarka-ble decrease in the quality of their lives. Analyzing the transcribed interviews led to emer-gence of four main themes: “disbelief in being really ill,” “fear and stress,” “changes in lifestyle,” and “seriously adhering to health guidelines.” Conclusion: Our results showed that COVID-19 patients suffer from physical pain and un-dergo poor mental health due to fear and stress resulting in worsening quality of life. A deep understanding of COVID-19 patients’ states and situations is highly significant to help nurses and nursing managers plan effective strategies for caring for patients with COVID-19.