Nurses' preparedness to respond to COVID‐19 and associated factors after the outbreak in China

AIM: Nurses are key staff in the response to the COVID‐19 epidemic. The aim of present study was to assess Chinese clinical nurses' preparedness levels for COVID‐19 after the outbreak, as well as the associated demographic factors. DESIGN: The design was a cross‐sectional survey. METHODS: We distributed an online questionnaire to nurses from five eastern coastal area hospitals. The questionnaire collected demographic information, and included the nurses' preparedness to respond to COVID‐19 questionnaire (NPR COVID‐19). RESULTS: The total mean NPR COVID‐19 score was 200.99 (standard deviation = 33.60), and the psychological approaches subscale had the lowest mean score. Education and training were positively associated with the NPR COVID‐19 score. Nurses' characteristics, such as seniority, job category and educational level, were entered into the NPR COVID‐19 regression model, and seniority (≤5 years) showed the strongest negative association with NPR COVID‐19 scores (standard coefficient = −0.20). CONCLUSIONS: Chinese nurse's preparedness to respond to COVID‐19 was adequate. Nurses with less than 5 years of work experience, nursing researchers and diploma‐educated nurses reported feeling a low preparedness to respond to COVID‐19. These nurses should receive specific training.