Preparedness of Iranian nurses against COVID‐19: An analytical study

BACKGROUND AND AIMS: The reasons for the unfavorable performance of hospitals in providing care to Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID‐19) patients include the lack of preparation, knowledge, and relevant skills, making it necessary to evaluate the preparedness of nurses to respond to COVID‐19. Therefore, the present study aimed to investigate the preparedness of hospitals affiliated with Shahrekord University of Medical Sciences during the COVID‐19 pandemic in 2022. METHODS: In this analytical study, data were collected from 350 randomly selected nurses who worked in three hospitals affiliated with Shahrekord University of Medical Sciences; demographic information tools and the preparation of nurses for COVID‐19 patients were used to collect the data. We analyzed the data using SPSS software version 26. RESULTS: The mean and standard deviation of the total preparation score was 118.85 ± 0.98. The lowest (6.80 ± 0.18) and highest (23.35 ± 0.19) average values belonged to risk assessment and management and COVID‐19, respectively. The score of nurses' preparedness to deal with COVID‐19 was not statistically correlated with age, work experience, and so on. The average preparation score was significantly different in different treatment departments (operating room and COVID‐19). CONCLUSION: The preparation of nurses was low in dealing with COVID‐19. Thus, managers of nursing services should design and implement educational programs to strengthen the nurses' weaknesses and ultimately increase their awareness and skills in dealing with disasters.