Hermeneutic Analysis of International Stories: Lived Experiences During the COVID-19 Pandemic

Writing stories about distressing experiences can be a step in navigating traumatic events. With favorable conditions emerging for the spillover of novel diseases, we aimed to 1) Gain insights into the “lived experiences” of individuals during the early phase of the COVID-19 pandemic; 2) Uncover gaps in care that individuals identified within their health care, community, and family settings; and 3) Understand the shared psychological well-being of individuals working within their health care settings. Following approval by a midwestern university institutional review board, a hermeneutic phenomenological framework guided the inquiry. Eighty-six stories came from 11 countries with 64% submitted by health care team members. We found: 1) Lived experiences evolved from a fluid and dynamic process by which personal knowledge emerged from the interaction between individuals’ internal responses to the pandemic, and their external behaviors that assisted with coping; 2) Gaps were found in communication of information between and within health care systems, communities and families impacting individuals’ psychologically safety and well-being; and 3) Spiritual fortitude supported individuals’ well-beinhg as they coped with adversities related to psychologically unsafe work milieus, inequities, and losses. Communal activities within hospital, family and/or community settings improved the well-being of individuals’ lived experiences. Our findings will inform hospital leadership, communities, and families of individuals’ lived experiences early in the pandemic. We provide recommendations that assist in the management of future health crises involving novel viruses.