Voices from the frontline: perceptions and needs of nurses involved in a nosocomial cluster of tuberculosis infection

Little is known about the psychological aspects of health care workers who contract tuberculosis (TB). This study explored the perceptions and the needs of nurses who were involved in a nosocomial cluster of TB infection in Taiwan. Using a phenomenological research design, we conducted semistructured interviews with nine participants. The data management was processed by Colaizzi's method. The result reveals that nursing staff members who occupationally contracted TB undergo two phases. From the detection of their infection to recovery, they experienced different perceptions and needs. The hospital should be mandated to accommodate nurses' varying needs accordingly. Clinical-implication-related infection control strategies, grouped into three levels of prevention, are discussed.