From chaos to a new normal—the COVID-19 pandemic as experienced by municipal health and social care providers in Sweden: A qualitative study

When the COVID-19 pandemic began to spread around the world, Swedish municipalities were unprepared. Different guidelines on how to act in relation to the disease varied and protective equipment was lacking. This study aims to describe the experiences of health and social care providers of working at municipality level during the COVID-19 pandemic. A total of 12 assistant nurses, 13 registered nurses, and three physicians were interviewed, individually or in groups, between fall 2020 and spring 2021. The interviews were semi-structured and were analyzed using thematic analysis, utilizing a design following the COREQ-checklist. Three main themes were identified as follows: ‘Initial chaotic situation and uncertainty regarding how to deal with the pandemic’; ‘Continuous changes in organization and work routines’, and ‘Management of the pandemic has become the new normal’. Though health and social care workers eventually managed to embed dealing with COVID-19 as a routine feature of their daily work, municipalities must prepare for future crises.