Knowledge, Risk Perception, Preventive Behavior and Emotional Regulation regarding COVID-19 among Nurses Working in Isolation Hospitals

Document Type : Original Article

Authors

1 Medical Surgical Nursing, Faculty of Nursing- Ain Shams University

2 Clinical Psychology, Faculty of Arts, Fayoum University

Abstract

Background: COVID-19 is an infectious illness caused by a newly discovered
corona virus now called severe acute respiratory syndrome. Nurses are providing front
line care for patients with COVID-19 that require hospitalization. So, studying of nurses’
knowledge of the COVID-19, risk perception, preventive behaviors and emotional
regulation is necessary since COVID-19 is currently spreading in hospitals and all over
the world. Aim: assess nurses' knowledge, risk perception, preventive behaviors and
emotional regulation regarding COVID-19. Design: A descriptive exploratory research
design was used to achieve the aim of this study. Settings: This study was conducted at
seven isolation hospitals in seven Egyptian governorates. Study subjects: a purposive
sample of 140 nurses working in isolation hospitals in Egypt Governorates. Tools:
Nurses’ demographic characteristics assessment questionnaire, nurses’ self-administered
assessment questionnaire, nurses' preventive behavior assessment tool, nurses’ risk
perception assessment tool and nurses’ emotional regulation scale. Results: more than
two thirds of nurses were females; the majority of the nurses had satisfactory level of
knowledge regarding COVID-19. Concerning preventive behavior, the majority of nurses
had good preventive behavior regarding COVID-19, while more than one third of nurses
had poor level of risk perception. Regarding emotional regulation more than two thirds of
nurses had good level of emotional regulation. Conclusion: The majority of the nurses
had satisfactory levels of knowledge, good level of preventive behavior and risk
perception of dealing with COVID-19 patients, and they also have good levels of
emotional regulation, which are reflected positively in dealing and caring COVID-19
patients in isolation hospitals. Recommendations: Infection control courses should be
implemented for all the nurses working in isolation hospitals before dealing with COVID
19 patients. Providing emotional and psychological support for nurses should be done to
increase the emotional regulation

Keywords