Living with COVID-19: a phenomenological study of hospitalised patients involved in family cluster transmission

OBJECTIVES: To describe experiences of hospitalised patients with COVID-19 following family cluster transmission of the infection and the meaning of these experiences for them. DESIGN: A descriptive phenomenological design was used to construct themes depicting patients’ experiences of living with COVID-19. SETTING: This study was conducted in a major teaching hospital in Wuhan, China, in March 2020. PARTICIPANTS: Fourteen patients involved in family cluster transmission of COVID-19 were recruited into the study. The participants consisted of seven males and seven females. Data were collected through semistructured, in-depth, face-to-face interviews. Interviews were transcribed verbatim and analysed using Colaizzi’s approach. RESULTS: Six themes emerged from data analysis during two distinct phases of patients going through COVID-19: the early outbreak phase and the later hospitalisation phase. Early in the outbreak, patients experienced life imbalances between individual well-being and family responsibilities. While facing widespread prejudice and rejection, patients dealt with the heavy toll that the illness had left on their body and mind. After being hospitalised, patients described feelings of living with uncertainty, sadness, fear of death and concerns about family, while simultaneously hoping for a better life after recovery. CONCLUSIONS: Our findings suggest that living with COVID-19 is an emotionally and physically challenging experience for patient participants in the study. Psychological evaluations need to be routinely carried out with patients in a public health crisis. Interprofessional and interorganisational collaborative efforts should be made to examine the physical and psychological sequelae of COVID-19, as well as investigate outcomes of existing intervention programmes.