Nurses' recovery experiences during the COVID-19 pandemic in Isfahan, Iran: A qualitative study.

AIM: The aim of this study is to explore and describe the recovery experiences of nurses working in COVID-19 wards. BACKGROUND: The global outbreak of coronavirus in 2020 has extracted job stress for nurses. Job stress has impacts on physical and mental health and performance, so recovery is essential to restore the lost energy resources. METHOD: Semi-structured interviews were conducted with 12 nurses in Isfahan city of Iran. RESULTS: The research results were extracted as 5 main themes, 14 subthemes and 54 items. The main themes are detachment from work, relaxation, non-work activities, affiliation and meaning. The combination of these themes led to the clear statement that using recovery experiences is a major step toward relieving the nurses' COVID-19-related stress and their physical and mental resuscitation. CONCLUSION: The use of recovery experiences, including detachment from work, relaxation, non-work activities, affiliation and meaning by nurses, helps them cope with job stressors and regain their resources. IMPLICATIONS FOR NURSING MANAGEMENT: It is the responsibility of health system policy makers, hospital managers and nurse managers to design and implement training programmes for nurses to use recovery experiences as stress management techniques in their profession.

The effect of vitamin B1 on bleeding and spotting in women using an intrauterine device: a double-blind randomised controlled trial.

OBJECTIVES: Excessive menstrual bleeding, the most common complication caused by intrauterine devices (IUDs), often leads to discontinuation of use. Our study investigates the effect of vitamin B1 on menstrual bleeding and spotting after insertion of the TCu380A IUD. METHODS: This double-blind, randomised controlled trial involved 110 Iranian women. We recruited women who noted that their menstrual flow (duration, amount, and number of sanitary pads needed) or intermenstrual spotting had increased one month after the insertion of a TCu380A, and randomly assigned them to two groups. The intervention group and the control group received 100 mg of vitamin B1 or a placebo, respectively, daily, for three months. We followed all participants for four months. The Higham scale was used for estimating the volume of menstrual bleeding. The Mann-Whitney test, paired t-test, independent t-test and Repeated Measure test were used for statistical purposes. RESULTS: In the intervention group the duration of menstrual bleeding, the number of sanitary pads and the amount of spotting decreased significantly compared to the control group (p < 0.001). CONCLUSION: Vitamin B1 is a safe, natural and cost-effective supplement that is devoid of side effects and reduces menstrual bleeding and spotting caused by a copper bearing-IUD.