'It's only a matter of time' - Lessons learnt and recommendations from COVID-19 to inform emergency nursing for future pandemics: An integrated literature review

Megan R Simic; Joanne E Porter; Blake Peck; Christopher Mesagno

doi:10.1016/j.auec.2024.10.004

'It's only a matter of time' - Lessons learnt and recommendations from COVID-19 to inform emergency nursing for future pandemics: An integrated literature review

Australas Emerg Care. 2024 Nov 26:S2588-994X(24)00070-8. doi: 10.1016/j.auec.2024.10.004. Online ahead of print.

Authors

Megan R Simic¹, Joanne E Porter², Blake Peck³, Christopher Mesagno⁴

Affiliations

¹ Collaborative Evaluation and Research Centre (CERC), Federation University, Churchill, Victoria, Australia. Electronic address: m.simic@federation.edu.au.
² Collaborative Evaluation and Research Centre (CERC), Federation University, Churchill, Victoria, Australia. Electronic address: Joanne.porter@federation.edu.au.
³ Nursing, Institute of Health and Wellbeing, Federation University, Ballarat, Victoria, Australia. Electronic address: b.peck@federation.edu.au.
⁴ Institute for Health and Sport, Victoria University, Melbourne, Victoria, Australia. Electronic address: chris.mesagno@vu.edu.au.

PMID: 39603854
DOI: 10.1016/j.auec.2024.10.004

Abstract

Purpose: In the recovery phase of COVID-19 disaster management, Emergency Department (ED) nurses are attempting to return to normal workforce operations, despite significant impacts on personal and professional lives. This review aims to examine and synthesise current literature for the learnings and recommendations from the lived experiences of ED nurses during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Procedures: Electronic databases CINAHL Complete, Web of Science, Scopus (Elsevier) and PubMed were utilised using a 5-year timeframe that aligned with COVID-19 in Australia. Final date of accepted papers was 28th February 2024. A JBI Mixed Methods Convergent Integrated Approach was used.

Findings: A total of 15 studies were included in the final review, representing seven countries of origin and included 649 ED nurses. Seven major themes related to learnings and recommendations were generated from data synthesis including (1) professional identity, (2) wellbeing support, (3) camaraderie, (4) effective communication, (5) working conditions and professional boundaries, (6) education and training, and (7) external support.

Conclusion: With the likelihood of future epidemic and pandemic events globally, it is vital to explore and collate evidence on the learnings and recommendations from ED during the COVID-19 pandemic to continue to build a sustainable, resilient, and supported workforce.

Keywords: Coronavirus; Covid-19; Emergency; Integrative review; Nursing; Pandemic; Recommendations.

Publication types

Review