Table 1.

Example of the data analysis.

Meaning unit	Condensed meaning unit	Code	Category	Main theme
Compassion fatigue made the nurse tired	Fatigue	Compassion fatigue is a different kind of tiredness	Compassion fatigue affects health	Compassion fatigue as exhausting the nurse as a professional and as a private person
Fatigue that does not go away with sleep	Prolonged fatigue
Prolonged fatigue that does not go away during a normal vacation
A different kind of fatigue; cloudy, deep, sweeping. Like being in a cloud or tired from hangover	Deeper and different kind of tiredness
Compassion fatigue leads to social life suffering	Loneliness	Compassion fatigue means social exclusion
Compassion fatigue leads to distancing oneself from activities	Infirmity
Compassion fatigue leads to withdrawing from contacting people