The Impact of COVID-19 on Alcohol and Other Drug Nurses' Provision of Care: A Qualitative Descriptive Study

Overview

Journal J Clin Nurs

Specialty Nursing

Date 2021 Mar 3

PMID 33656227

Citations 6

Authors

Adam Searby

Dianna Burr

Affiliations

Soon will be listed here.

Abstract

Aims And Objectives: To explore the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on alcohol and other drug nurses providing treatment for individuals presenting with problematic alcohol and other drug use.

Background: COVID-19 has caused disruption to contemporary health service delivery, including alcohol and other drug treatment. Provisional research on drug and alcohol consumption patterns shows changes attributable to the pandemic, with implications for service delivery. Research also indicates the impact of the pandemic on healthcare staff is significant, leading to workforce challenges that threaten care provision.

Design: Qualitative descriptive study design.

Methods: Data were collected using semi-structured, individual telephone interviews with practising alcohol and other drug nurses from Australia and New Zealand (n = 19). COREQ reporting guidelines were used.

Results: After thematic analysis, three key themes emerged: 'No room at the inn: Changes to service delivery due to COVID-19', 'We are providing care to a very vulnerable group of people: Consumer factors during COVID-19' and 'Personally, we were very, very stressed: Workforce factors due to COVID-19'.

Conclusions: The findings from this study indicate that the impact of the pandemic was felt by alcohol and other drug nurses, services and healthcare consumers alike. The experiences of alcohol and other drug nurses through the COVID-19 pandemic need further exploration both to ensure workforce sustainability and that disruptions to alcohol and other drug services do not occur in future outbreaks of communicable disease.

Relevance To Clinical Practice: COVID-19 has had a profound effect on nurses in all settings, and these effects are likely to be felt for some time after the pandemic: nursing specialties require support to ensure ongoing workforce sustainability and well-being of nursing staff. All nurses need to be aware of changes to alcohol and other drug use during the pandemic and screen healthcare consumers accordingly.

Citing Articles

Gratitude interventions to improve wellbeing and resilience of graduate nurses transitioning to practice: A scoping review.

Calleja P, Knight-Davidson P, McVicar A, Laker C, Yu S, Roszak-Burton L Int J Nurs Stud Adv. 2024; 6:100188.

PMID: 38746819 PMC: 11080336. DOI: 10.1016/j.ijnsa.2024.100188.

Long COVID as a never-ending puzzle: the experience of primary care physicians. A qualitative interview study.

Pavlic D, Maksuti A, Mihevc M, Munda A, Medija K, Strauch V BJGP Open. 2023; 7(4).

PMID: 37437953 PMC: 11176678. DOI: 10.3399/BJGPO.2023.0074.

Ethical Dilemmas Facing Substance Use Counselors During the COVID-19 Pandemic.

McCuistian C, Fokuo J, Smith J, Sorensen J, Arnold E Subst Abuse. 2023; 17:11782218231158338.

PMID: 36923068 PMC: 10008725. DOI: 10.1177/11782218231158338.

Primary care embedded within permanent supportive housing for people who use substances: A qualitative study examining healthcare access in Vancouver, Canada.

MacKinnon L, Kerman N, Socias M, Brar R, Bardwell G Health Soc Care Community. 2022; 30(6):e5062-e5073.

PMID: 35852403 PMC: 9970158. DOI: 10.1111/hsc.13921.

Health care workers' experiences during the COVID-19 pandemic: a scoping review.

Chemali S, Mari-Saez A, El Bcheraoui C, Weishaar H Hum Resour Health. 2022; 20(1):27.

PMID: 35331261 PMC: 8943506. DOI: 10.1186/s12960-022-00724-1.

References

Dietze P, Peacock A . Illicit drug use and harms in Australia in the context of COVID-19 and associated restrictions: Anticipated consequences and initial responses. Drug Alcohol Rev. 2020; 39(4):297-300. PMC: 7283853. DOI: 10.1111/dar.13079. View

Callinan S, Mojica-Perez Y, Wright C, Livingston M, Kuntsche S, Laslett A . Purchasing, consumption, demographic and socioeconomic variables associated with shifts in alcohol consumption during the COVID-19 pandemic. Drug Alcohol Rev. 2020; 40(2):183-191. DOI: 10.1111/dar.13200. View

Mealer M, Jones Rn J . Methodological and ethical issues related to qualitative telephone interviews on sensitive topics. Nurse Res. 2014; 21(4):32-7. DOI: 10.7748/nr2014.03.21.4.32.e1229. View

Adekunle A, Meehan M, Rojas-Alvarez D, Trauer J, McBryde E . Delaying the COVID-19 epidemic in Australia: evaluating the effectiveness of international travel bans. Aust N Z J Public Health. 2020; 44(4):257-259. PMC: 7405030. DOI: 10.1111/1753-6405.13016. View

Huckle T, Parker K, Romeo J, Casswell S . Online alcohol delivery is associated with heavier drinking during the first New Zealand COVID-19 pandemic restrictions. Drug Alcohol Rev. 2020; 40(5):826-834. PMC: 7753625. DOI: 10.1111/dar.13222. View

Dunlop A, Lokuge B, Masters D, Sequeira M, Saul P, Dunlop G . Challenges in maintaining treatment services for people who use drugs during the COVID-19 pandemic. Harm Reduct J. 2020; 17(1):26. PMC: 7201394. DOI: 10.1186/s12954-020-00370-7. View

Tong A, Sainsbury P, Craig J . Consolidated criteria for reporting qualitative research (COREQ): a 32-item checklist for interviews and focus groups. Int J Qual Health Care. 2007; 19(6):349-57. DOI: 10.1093/intqhc/mzm042. View

Trujols J, Larrabeiti A, Sanchez O, Madrid M, De Andres S, Duran-Sindreu S . Increased flexibility in methadone take-home scheduling during the COVID-19 pandemic: Should this practice be incorporated into routine clinical care?. J Subst Abuse Treat. 2020; 119:108154. PMC: 7532346. DOI: 10.1016/j.jsat.2020.108154. View

Lai J, Ma S, Wang Y, Cai Z, Hu J, Wei N . Factors Associated With Mental Health Outcomes Among Health Care Workers Exposed to Coronavirus Disease 2019. JAMA Netw Open. 2020; 3(3):e203976. PMC: 7090843. DOI: 10.1001/jamanetworkopen.2020.3976. View

10.

Pierce M, Hope H, Ford T, Hatch S, Hotopf M, John A . Mental health before and during the COVID-19 pandemic: a longitudinal probability sample survey of the UK population. Lancet Psychiatry. 2020; 7(10):883-892. PMC: 7373389. DOI: 10.1016/S2215-0366(20)30308-4. View

11.

Jefferies S, French N, Gilkison C, Graham G, Hope V, Marshall J . COVID-19 in New Zealand and the impact of the national response: a descriptive epidemiological study. Lancet Public Health. 2020; 5(11):e612-e623. PMC: 7553903. DOI: 10.1016/S2468-2667(20)30225-5. View

12.

Choi K, Heilemann M, Fauer A, Mead M . A Second Pandemic: Mental Health Spillover From the Novel Coronavirus (COVID-19). J Am Psychiatr Nurses Assoc. 2020; 26(4):340-343. DOI: 10.1177/1078390320919803. View

13.

Wong E, Wong S, Kung K, Cheung A, Gao T, Griffiths S . Will the community nurse continue to function during H1N1 influenza pandemic: a cross-sectional study of Hong Kong community nurses?. BMC Health Serv Res. 2010; 10:107. PMC: 2907760. DOI: 10.1186/1472-6963-10-107. View

14.

Nevedal A, Ayalon L, Briller S . A Qualitative Evidence Synthesis Review of Longitudinal Qualitative Research in Gerontology. Gerontologist. 2018; 59(6):e791-e801. DOI: 10.1093/geront/gny134. View

15.

Mo Y, Deng L, Zhang L, Lang Q, Liao C, Wang N . Work stress among Chinese nurses to support Wuhan in fighting against COVID-19 epidemic. J Nurs Manag. 2020; 28(5):1002-1009. PMC: 7262235. DOI: 10.1111/jonm.13014. View

16.

Butler K, Reeve R, Arora S, Viney R, Goodall S, van Gool K . The hidden costs of drug and alcohol use in hospital emergency departments. Drug Alcohol Rev. 2015; 35(3):359-66. DOI: 10.1111/dar.12302. View

17.

Sorci G, Faivre B, Morand S . Explaining among-country variation in COVID-19 case fatality rate. Sci Rep. 2020; 10(1):18909. PMC: 7609641. DOI: 10.1038/s41598-020-75848-2. View

18.

Tan E, Meyer D, Neill E, Phillipou A, Toh W, Van Rheenen T . Considerations for assessing the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on mental health in Australia. Aust N Z J Psychiatry. 2020; 54(11):1067-1071. PMC: 7404085. DOI: 10.1177/0004867420947815. View

19.

Liu Q, Luo D, Haase J, Guo Q, Wang X, Liu S . The experiences of health-care providers during the COVID-19 crisis in China: a qualitative study. Lancet Glob Health. 2020; 8(6):e790-e798. PMC: 7190296. DOI: 10.1016/S2214-109X(20)30204-7. View

20.

Uscher-Pines L, Sousa J, Raja P, Mehrotra A, Barnett M, Huskamp H . Treatment of opioid use disorder during COVID-19: Experiences of clinicians transitioning to telemedicine. J Subst Abuse Treat. 2020; 118:108124. PMC: 7456454. DOI: 10.1016/j.jsat.2020.108124. View