Leading, Connecting and Coping: Nurses' Responses to Sustaining Well-Being During the COVID-19 Crisis-A Qualitative Study.

AIM: To explore nurses' perceptions of the strategies used to support their mental health and well-being during a recent public health crisis.

DESIGN

A pragmatic, qualitative, exploratory design was employed.

METHODS

Semistructured interviews were conducted with a purposive sample of 20 nurses working in two large, regional public hospitals and health services in Queensland, Australia, between July and October 2023.

RESULTS

Three main themes were constructed from the data: (i) management and leadership approaches, (ii) connection to others and (iii) self-care practices. Eight subthemes support the three themes.

CONCLUSION

Although nurses and healthcare leaders could not control the broader impact of the crisis, the prolonged and evolving nature of the situation brought significant challenges to workforce management. Amidst the uncertainty, adaptability emerged as essential. The crisis also created space for innovations in flexibility and revealed the central role of peer support and teamwork in coping. Moreover, the importance of self-care, particularly through maintaining boundaries between professional and personal life, was widely recognised as crucial to sustaining well-being.

IMPLICATIONS FOR NURSING MANAGEMENT: Nursing management has an important role in sustaining staff well-being during prolonged crisis conditions. Given the centrality of peer support and teamwork as coping strategies, nursing managers should prioritise team cohesion through structured opportunities for connection and debriefing. Organisational approaches should also move beyond short-term gestures and embed accessible, proactive well-being supports that enable boundaries and recovery over time.

REPORTING METHOD: The study adheres to the COREQ reporting guidelines.

PATIENT OR PUBLIC CONTRIBUTION: Participants in this study were registered nurses employed in two regional public hospitals in Queensland, Australia. Participants shared their experiences through in-depth interviews. Each participant provided informed consent before taking part in the study.