Journal of

Covid-19 has had a significant impact on spouses' relationships. The high mortality rate from this disease is also a serious challenge. The aim of this study was to identify and investigate the differences between the life experiences of healthy spouses and mourning spouses during the corona virus epidemic. The research method was qualitative interpretive phenomenology. The statistical population was all healthy spouses of Tehran and Khorasan Razavi provinces, who have not been infected with the disease since the beginning of the outbreak and all spouses of these two provinces who lost their spouses due to corona virus. The sample included 9 healthy and 8 mourning spouses. The available sampling method was used for healthy spouses and targeted and snowball methods were used for mourning spouses. Interviews were conducted in a semi-structured manner, then implemented verbatim and analyzed by Colaizzi method. 4 main themes were identified in the experiences of both groups: worries, personal reactions, changes in social relationships and changes in attitudes. The main differences were in the sub-themes (e.g., illness concerns for healthy spouses and worries about survival for mourning spouses) and in main themes, they were similar due to the commonality of the questions. The results, by identifying the experiences of these two groups of spouses, showed that caring for self and for family against corona virus or death due to it, can cause significant problems and it is necessary to provide support systems for families according to their circumstances.