Background The strict restrictions implemented in England during the COVID-19 pandemic meant it was no longer possible to recruit or interview participants in person. However, virtual recruitment and interviews are not without their challenges, particularly when exploring sensitive topics.

Aim To discuss how to overcome some of the challenges involved in recruiting and interviewing participants who have been critically ill with COVID-19.

Discussion An exploratory, descriptive study was conducted involving interviews with 20 people who had been critically ill with COVID-19 and had been discharged from two community-based healthcare settings in London, England. Participants were interviewed at home after being discharged from hospital after at least one month. The sensitivity of the research topic meant strategies for recruiting and interviewing needed to be adapted, including involving patient experience facilitators, using virtual interviews, managing the distress of participants and self-care for the researchers.

Conclusion The adaptations used in this study can be used in research involving people who have been critically ill.

Implications for practice Researchers can explore innovative ways to recruit participants using hospital or community staff who are not usually involved in research. Virtual interviews require additional skills, such as building rapport with participants, so may require additional training. A distress protocol for participants should always be considered when discussing sensitive topics. Self-care and debrief strategies for interviewers are also critical.

Nurse Researcher. 31, 2, 11-18. doi: 10.7748/nr.2023.e1854

Correspondence

jamesa23@lsbu.ac.uk

Peer review

This article has been subject to external double-blind peer review and checked for plagiarism using automated software

Conflict of interest

Suzanne Bench is a National Institute for Health Research (NIHR) 70@70 senior nurse and midwifery research leader – the views expressed in this article are those of the authors and not necessarily those of the NIHR or the Department of Health and Social Care

Permission

To reuse this article or for information about reprints and permissions, please contact permissions@rcni.com

Acknowledgements

The authors would like to acknowledge the contributions of the following: Helen Cherry, patient and carer representative; Hilary Floyd, medical director, NHS Seacole Centre, Epsom and St Helier University Hospitals NHS Trust; Matthew Hodson, deputy director of nursing and therapies, Central London Community Healthcare NHS Trust (North Central Division); Nicola McGuinness, research assistant, Institute of Health and Social Care, London South Bank University; Gaby Parker, consultant clinical neuropsychologist, Central London Community Healthcare NHS Trust (Hertfordshire Division). They would also like to thank everyone who gave up their time to speak to them and participate in their research, as well as the staff at the data collection sites for supporting the study during the COVID-19 pandemic and the Burdett Trust for Nursing for awarding them the grant that enabled them to complete this work