To Örebro University

In public health crises, such as pandemics, nurses’ willingness to care for patients, even when risking one’s own well-being, is essential. The overall aim of this thesis was to explore nurses’ willingness to care, and experiences of nursing care and altruism, in relation to a pandemic. The thesis includes four qualitative studies, based on interviews with primarily intensive care nurses, in which the phenomenological hermeneutical method and systematic text condensation were used for analysis, and in addition, the concept of professional altruism was clarified. The composite findings of the qualitative studies (studies I–IV) showed that, before the COVID-19 pandemic, nurses felt ambivalence towards the phenomenon of altruism. When the COVID-19 pandemic hit Sweden, nurses showed great willingness to care for patients and displayed altruistic behaviour. Working at over full capacity took its toll, and nurses’ willingness to care started to diminish when personal consequences became apparent. They were pushed to the edge, and for some nurses their willingness to care was transformed into a need to prioritise oneself, and ultimately to resign from intensive care. The last study (Study V) considered professional altruism as a willingness to act for others, a moral orientation, a motivational force, an unwavering professional expectation, and a valued, yet challenged and sometimes rejected phenomenon. Supporting the willingness to care and professional altruism, as well as to prepare nurses and nursing students for future crises, including ethical decision-making in situations of scarce resources, is crucial to ensure effective health crisis management in the future.