Emergency Response: A Cross-sectional Study of Core Competencies for Nurses Regarding Major Infectious Disease Outbreaks.

Song, Shu; Li, Xueyan; Bell, Sue Anne; Yang, Xingjing; Zhang, Weiying

INTRODUCTION The core competencies of nursing personnel have been identified as a main factor affecting nursing effectiveness. This study examined core emergency response competencies of Chinese nursing personnel related to the outbreak of major infectious diseases. METHODS A survey was conducted among 960 nurses working in a tertiary hospital in Shanghai, China. Data were collected on core emergency response competencies of nursing personnel caring for patients with major infectious diseases, measuring overall competency as well as by dimensions of prevention ability, rescue ability, and preparation ability. A t-test and one-way analysis of variance were first analyzed for differences between groups, followed by multiple linear regression to analyze main influencing factors for core emergency response competencies. RESULTS The average score for core emergency response competencies of nursing personnel delivering care to patients with major infectious diseases was 128.05 (SD 22.23) (range 36-180 points); or 71%, which is equivalent to moderate performance. Multiple linear regression analysis demonstrated that the main influencing factors for these nursing personnel were before participation in emergency drills for infectious diseases, current educational background, and working experience in the realm of infectious disease nursing. The final model explained 8.4% of the variance in core emergency response competencies. DISCUSSION These findings indicate that it is necessary to strengthen the training of nursing staff with educational background deficits or no prior work or drill experience related to infectious diseases to effectively improve the core emergency response competencies of nursing personnel relative to infectious diseases.