INTRODUCTION: The COVID-19 pandemic caused traumatic events among health care workers. They are the ones who are exposed to the virus as frontliners. The study aimed to explore the experiences and impact of the pandemic on the physical, psychological and emotional aspects of both nurses and nursing aides. METHODS: This was a qualitative interpretative phenomenological study, focused on describing the individual nurse’s and nursing aide’s lived experiences as stay-in personnel in a private hospital in Quezon City catering to COVID-19 patients. Participants were selected by purposive sampling. They were interviewed using a semi-structured questionnaire on how the pandemic affected their physical, psychological and emotional well-being. The qualitative data collected was coded and categorized according to themes that described their lived experiences. RESULTS: The three themes derived were: impact of a pandemic, strategies and coping, and psychological outcome for the three interview questions. Impact of a pandemic included isolation from the family (loneliness/sadness and lack of family interaction) and adequate preparation for a pandemic (preparation for COVID-19, pandemic restrictions, health protocol compliance). Strategies and coping included comfort and convenience (living conditions, independent living), adapting to new normal (coping mechanisms, strategies; exploration), and family safety. Psychological outcome included the emotional impact (fear, anxiety). CONCLUSION The nurses and nursing aides had both negative and positive experiences, with different outcomes depending on the participant. Most of the experiences were positive, thus the investigators concluded that a change in the participants’ current lives has led to a voluntary decision to be separated from their loved ones while still being happy and content because of the assurance that their families were safe at home.

INTRODUCTION: Concerns have been increased about the use of mobile phones in hospitals as they may be vehicles for the transmission of hospital-acquired infections. This study aimed to compare the effectiveness of 70% isopropyl alcohol wipes with bleach-based wipes in decreasing bacterial colony counts of mobile phones of staff nurses. METHODS: Mobile phones of staff nurses in the UERM Hospital were assigned to be disinfected with 70% isopropyl alcohol wipes or bleach-based wipes. Mobile phones were swabbed using standard techniques before and after disinfection with 70% isopropyl alcohol wipes or bleach-based wipes. Post-disinfection colony counts were compared with baseline counts in each group and compared between the two test groups. RESULTS: There was a significant decrease in the post-disinfection mean colony count compared with the mean baseline colony count in both the 70% isopropyl alcohol wipes (p < 0.001) and bleach-based wipes (p = 0.002) groups. The decrease in the 70% isopropyl alcohol wipes group was bigger (121,635 vs 85,769 CFU/mL). The mean post-disinfection colony count of the 70% isopropyl alcohol wipes was significantly lower (p = 0.007) than the other group. CONCLUSION Both 70% isopropyl alcohol wipes and bleach-based wipes are effective in decreasing bacterial colony counts of mobile phones of staff nurses. The alcohol wipes resulted in a greater decrease in colony count compared with the bleach wipes.