Roles and Experiences of Registered Nurses on Labor and Delivery Units in the United States During the COVID-19 Pandemic.

OCCUPATIONAL roles; ADAPTABILITY (Personality); WORK environment; MEDICAL quality control; NURSING; CROSS-sectional method; PREVENTION of communicable diseases; HOSPITAL birthing centers; EXPERIENCE; NURSES; DESCRIPTIVE statistics; LABOR (Obstetrics); DELIVERY (Obstetrics); CONTENT analysis; COVID-19 pandemic; PSYCHOLOGICAL stress

To examine the roles and experiences of labor and delivery (LD) nurses during the COVID-19 pandemic. Cross-sectional survey. Online distribution between the beginning of July and end of August 2020. LD nurses (N = 757) responded to an open-ended question about changes to their roles during the COVID-19 pandemic as part of a larger national survey. We calculated descriptive statistics on respondents' characteristics and their hospitals' characteristics. We applied conventional content analysis to free-text comments. We derived four major categories from the responses: Changes in Roles and Responsibilities , Adaptations to Changes , Psychological Changes , and Perceived Effects on Labor Support. Nearly half (n = 328) of respondents reported changes in their roles and responsibilities during the COVID-19 pandemic. They described adaptations and responses to these changes and perceived effects on patient care. Infection control policies and practices as well as the stress of a rapidly changing work environment affected the provision of labor support and personal well-being. The experiences described by respondents conveyed considerable changes in their roles and subsequent direct and indirect effects on quality of patient care and personal well-being. Policies and practices that can facilitate the ability of LD nurses to safely and securely remain at the bedside and provide high-touch, hands-on labor support are needed. The findings of our study can help facilitate the provision of labor support during times of disruption and foster the resiliency of the nursing workforce. Labor and delivery nurses experienced changes in their roles and responsibilities during the COVID-19 pandemic that affected their personal well-being and the provision of patient care. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

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