patients’ experiences of living with coronavirus disease 2019: a qualitative study

Background: the emergence of this coronavirus disease 2019 (covid-19) is now a public health crisis that leads to various challenges. there is a significant scientific gap in this field, including the necessity of updating the definitions and information about this disease. this disease causes a lot of physical and psychological problems and leads to changes in and reduced quality of life. however, one of the definitive pieces of data about this disease is human-to-human transmission and its very high prevalence, which itself carries certain social and psychological risks. aim: this study aimed to explore patients' experiences of living with covid-19. method: the present qualitative study was conducted based on a conventional content analysis method. the statistical population of this study (n=17) consisted of recovered patients from covid-19 with a history of admission to the intensive care unit of afzalipour hospital in kerman, iran, selected using a purposive sampling method. the data were collected through semi-structured interviews and analyzed using the qualitative content analysis method proposed by graneheim and lundman. results: data collection and analysis led to the determination of 1 theme, 4 categories, and 18 subcategories. the theme was identified as coronavirus as a prison of time and the categories were behavioral challenges, human flourishing, negative emotions, and psychological distress in quarantine. implications for practice: study participants had both positive and negative experiences. the results of this study can help healthcare providers to identify the needs of these patients and design a care model for these patients.