Evaluation of the caregiving roles and attitudes of nurses during the COVID-19 pandemic

Abstract

Background: Nurses play a critical role in providing care to patients, in particular, they work in the frontlines in caring for patients with complicated COVID-19 requiring hospitalization. Evaluation of the caregiving roles and attitudes of nurses is critical in the current crisis. Therefore, this study aimed to determine the caregiving roles and attitudes of nurses during the COVID-19 pandemic. Methods: A quantitative descriptive study was performed with 130 nurses in Turkey. The attitude scale for the caregiving roles of nurses (ASCRNs) was used to collect data. We conducted an online survey between May and November 2020. Results: The mean total score of the participants on the ASCRN was 62.20 +/- 18.42. All nurses stated that they were affected by the COVID-19 pandemic. The ASCRN scores of nurses who received training about the COVID-19 pandemic and who thought that the personal protective equipment they used was sufficient had statistically higher scores on the ASCRN (p < .05). Conclusion: The results of this study suggested that the COVID-19 pandemic had a negative effect on the caregiving roles and attitudes of the nurses.