Factors Affecting Infection Control Performance of School Health Nurses During the COVID-19 Pandemic in South Korea

PURPOSE: Many patients with coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) are asymptomatic or infected by unclear infection routes. Significant group infections may result from transmission in schools, and thus, it is necessary to improve infection control efficiency in schools by identifying the factors associated with the performance of COVID-19 infection control by school health nurses. METHODS: The participants were 130 school health nurses in Korea. The survey variables included knowledge of COVID-19, infection control attitude, job stress, and school organizational culture. RESULTS: The results demonstrated that among the variables, infection control attitude, job stress, and the level of infection control in schools perceived by school health nurses were significant. The explanatory power of the model including these variables was 25.8% (F=14.39, p<0.001, R(2)=0.255, Adj-R(2)=0.258). CONCLUSION: The results showed that the infection control attitude and job stress of school health nurses had a significant effect on their infection control performance during the COVID-19 pandemic. The results will be used as basic data for developing programs to enhance the competence of school health nurses to manage new infectious diseases.