Experiences and needs of nursing students during pandemic outbreaks: A systematic overview of the literature

BACKGROUND: Recent epidemics have placed overwhelming demands on health systems, leading at times to the deployment of nursing students during the crisis. Little is known about the impact this experience has on students. Although studies have explored nursing students' knowledge about infection control, there are no specific recommendations regarding how these issues should be addressed in nurse education. PURPOSE: To conduct a comprehensive systematic overview of the literature concerning nursing students in the context of emerging infectious disease epidemics or pandemics caused by zoonotic viruses. METHODS: Systematic overview. RESULTS: Forty-eight articles were included. Five themes were identified: education; knowledge, concern about risk and preventive behaviour; willingness to work during a pandemic outbreak; experiences and emotional impact; and ethical dilemmas. CONCLUSIONS: There is a need to enhance nurse education to ensure that students have adequate education in infection prevention and control and the opportunity to develop the skills and attitudes required to provide care to infected patients during a pandemic. The outcomes of these education programmes would need to be evaluated using valid and reliable instruments so as to enable comparisons to be made to prepare future nurses to deal with new pandemics in an increasingly globalized world.