Developing and validating of educational-therapeutic package based on psychological flexibility for nurses in the intensive care unit of COVID-19: Application of grounded theory

Abstract

BACKGROUND: Caring for COVID-19 patients has caused high stress and burnses. Therefore, the current research aims to develop and validate an educational-therapeutic package based on psychological flexibility for COVID-19 nurses. MATERIALS AND METHODS: The approach of this research was Exploratory Sequential Mixed Method, which was carried out in 2019 to 2021. In the qualitative phase, to identify the paradigm model of the research, the grounded theory of the Strauss and Corbin model, purposeful sampling, and in-depth semi-structured interviews with 12 nurses were used. Goba and Lincoln’s criteria were used to ensure the accuracy and reliability of the data. In the quantitative phase, based on the Paradarim model, a training package according to psychological flexibility was developed with the approval of 10 experts from the fields of medical, psychology and nursing education. RESULTS: The qualitative analysis of the data obtained from the interviews led to the identification of 29 primary concept codes, 8 subcategories, and 3 categories in the conceptual format of context, process, and consequence. The categories included “psychological insecurity in the workplace,” “strategic immunization in facing special conditions,” and “safe communication.” “Psychologically safe exposure” was identified as the central category. In several stages, based on the findings of the qualitative stage, the educational-therapeutic package was compiled. The validity of the package was confirmed by calculating two relative coefficients of content validity ratio (CVR) and content validity index (CVI) equal to 0.91 and 0.85, respectively. CONCLUSION: This research led to the development of an educational-therapeutic package of safe psychological exposure for nurses, which can be used by managers and nurse educators through in-service training courses. Therefore, it is suggested to use training and safe coping strategies to improve the quality of life in nurses.

Keywords

• coping strategies
• intensive care units
• nurses
• psycho-educational program
• psychological flexibility