Date of Award
Spring 5-12-2022
Degree Type
Dissertation
Degree Name
Doctor of Philosophy (PhD)
School
Leadership and Advanced Nursing Practice
Committee Chair
Dr. Debra Copeland
Committee Chair School
Leadership and Advanced Nursing Practice
Committee Member 2
Dr. Bonnie Harbaugh
Committee Member 2 School
Leadership and Advanced Nursing Practice
Committee Member 3
Dr. Marti Jordan
Committee Member 3 School
Leadership and Advanced Nursing Practice
Committee Member 4
Dr. Lachel Story
Committee Member 4 School
Leadership and Advanced Nursing Practice
Abstract
Perinatal nursing consists of caring for women before, during, and shortly after the birth experience, providing a unique opportunity for nurses to care for women and families in a fundamental moment of life (Simpson et al., 2020). This qualitative descriptive study design allows for straight descriptions of phenomena to evaluate perceptions of nurses caring for perceived stigmatized patients in the perinatal setting during the SARS-CoV-2 (COVID-19) pandemic. As research gaps were identified, the following research questions were developed and used to guide this study:
1. What are the perceptions of caring in perinatal nurses who deliver care to perceived stigmatized patients in the perinatal patient population?
2. What are the perceptions of caring in perinatal nurses as they deliver care to perinatal patients during the COVID-19 pandemic?
Swanson’s theory of caring serves as the guiding conceptual framework for this study as perceptions of caring are evaluated in perinatal nurses. The purpose of this study was to extend Swanson’s theory of caring and further describe how perceptions of stigma among perinatal patients alter perceptions of caring during the COVID-19 pandemic. A descriptive, qualitative design was used for this study, and 15 Zoom interviews were conducted with perinatal nurses in the Southeastern United States to provide a further description of nurses’ perceptions of caring as they deliver care to perceived stigmatized patients during the COVID-19 pandemic. Purposive sampling methods were used to recruit participants. Hsieh and Shannon’s (2005) directed content analysis method was used for data analysis, to enable systematic coding of interview data.
The study findings indicated alterations in the level of nurses caring for perceived stigmatized patients. Nurses described negative maintaining beliefs of perceived stigmatized patients and shared a lack of desire to be emotionally present with them. Among caring categories of desiring to know perceived stigmatized patients and do for and enable them, most nurses reported an equal or greater occurrence with perceived stigmatized patients compared to traditional ones. Nurses provided suggestions for growth in nursing education and the entire nursing culture and environment as a means of improving caring care and patient outcomes when perceived stigma exists.
Copyright
Tucker, 2022
Recommended Citation
Tucker, Deborah, "Perceptions of Perinatal Nurses Caring for Perceived Stigmatized Patients During the COVID-19 Pandemic in Perinatal Settings: A Qualitative Study" (2022). Dissertations. 1981.
https://aquila.usm.edu/dissertations/1981