Nurses' recovery experiences during the COVID-19 pandemic in Isfahan, Iran: A qualitative study

Aim The aim of this study is to explore and describe the recovery experiences of nurses working in COVID-19 wards. Background The global outbreak of coronavirus in 2020 has extracted job stress for nurses. Job stress has impacts on physical and mental health and performance, so recovery is essential to restore the lost energy resources. Method Semi-structured interviews were conducted with 12 nurses in Isfahan city of Iran. Results The research results were extracted as 5 main themes, 14 subthemes and 54 items. The main themes are detachment from work, relaxation, non-work activities, affiliation and meaning. The combination of these themes led to the clear statement that using recovery experiences is a major step toward relieving the nurses' COVID-19-related stress and their physical and mental resuscitation. Conclusion The use of recovery experiences, including detachment from work, relaxation, non-work activities, affiliation and meaning by nurses, helps them cope with job stressors and regain their resources. Implications for Nursing Management It is the responsibility of health system policy makers, hospital managers and nurse managers to design and implement training programmes for nurses to use recovery experiences as stress management techniques in their profession.