Reframing care while enduring the traumatic nature of witnessing disrupted family-patient-nurses' relationships during COVID-19.

Aim: To describe the lived experiences of nurses caring for patients and families in the context of COVID-19 in Brazil and United States.

Design: A phenomenological philosophical approach following the van Manen analysis method.

Methods: Participants were recruited in Brazil and the United States, including nurses working in health care settings caring for COVID-19 patients.

Living in COVID's Disbeliefs, Media, and Fear: Nurses in Brazil and the United States Share Their Experiences.

During the COVID-19 pandemic, nurses were placed in an unprecedented context in which they engaged with community members, family members, and friends while positioned between dire hospital situations and community disbelief about the seriousness of the pandemic, often along political lines. A secondary analysis of a qualitative study exploring experiences of 39 nurses in the United States and Brazil in engaging with the community and political discourse during the pandemic provided insights into the impact of these interactions on nurses, and implications for how nurses may emerge from this pandemic time stronger and more supported by those in administrative positions.