Expanding nursing's role in responding to global pandemics 5/14/2018

Corless, Inge B.; Nardi, Deena; Milstead, Jeri A.; Larson, Elaine; Nokes, Kathleen M.; Orsega, Susan; Kurth, Ann; Kirksey, Kenn M.; Woith, Wendy M.

doi:10.1016/j.outlook.2018.06.003

Cited by 41 publications

(43 citation statements)

References 7 publications

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“…Given these roles in promoting resilience, better involving CHWs in pandemic preparation efforts appears both logical and practical. There have been direct calls for sustained investment in health worker training, which could include CHWs, to mitigate the risks posed by disease outbreaks (16,22) and considering the potential contributions of CHWs in containing public health emergencies, scaling-up CHW strategies could avoid an estimated $750 million in economic losses per year (23). We now propose several actionable options for improving CHW trainings and involvement in health emergency response to better promote pandemic preparedness.…”

Section: Future Opportunities: Recommendations For Engaging Communitymentioning

confidence: 99%

Community Health Workers and Pandemic Preparedness: Current and Prospective Roles

Boyce

Katz

2019

Front. Public Health

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Despite the importance of community health workers (CHWs) to health systems in resource-constrained environments, relatively little has been written about their contributions to pandemic preparedness. In this perspective piece, we draw from the response to the 2014 Ebola and 2015 Zika epidemics to review examples whereby CHWs contributed to health security and pandemic preparedness. CHWs promoted pandemic preparedness prior to the epidemics by increasing the access to health services and products within communities, communicating health concepts in a culturally appropriate fashion, and reducing the burdens felt by formal healthcare systems. During the epidemics, CHWs promoted pandemic preparedness by acting as community-level educators and mobilizers, contributing to surveillance systems, and filling health service gaps. Acknowledging the success CHWs have had in these roles and in previous interventions, we propose that the cadre may be better engaged in pandemic preparedness in the future. Some practical strategies for achieving this include training and using CHWs to communicate One Health information to at-risk communities prior to outbreaks, pooling them into a reserve health corps to be used during public health emergencies, and formalizing agreements and strategies to promote the early engagement of CHWs in response actions. Recognizing that CHWs already play a role in pandemic preparedness, we feel that expanding the roles and responsibilities of CHWs represents a practical means of improving pandemic and community-level resilience.

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Section: Future Opportunities: Recommendations For Engaging Communitymentioning

confidence: 99%

Community Health Workers and Pandemic Preparedness: Current and Prospective Roles

Boyce

Katz

2019

Front. Public Health

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“…Thus, along with mitigation and suppression strategies, health systems, and in particular, preparedness of HCWs (i.e., physicians, nurses/midwives, and allied health workers), to respond to pandemics are critical to containing disease spread. [7][8][9][10] Previous studies on epidemics, such as with other severe acute respiratory syndrome and Ebola, have found that preparedness of HCWs are not only essential to effectively containing epidemics, but also in ensuring that they are not pulled from addressing other illnesses that may lead to preventable deaths. 8,11,12 Additionally, inadequate HCW preparedness to respond to an outbreak contributes to workers leaving their positions due to fear of infection and community distrust of government and HCWs, while preparedness has been associated with increased team spirit.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…[7][8][9][10] Previous studies on epidemics, such as with other severe acute respiratory syndrome and Ebola, have found that preparedness of HCWs are not only essential to effectively containing epidemics, but also in ensuring that they are not pulled from addressing other illnesses that may lead to preventable deaths. 8,11,12 Additionally, inadequate HCW preparedness to respond to an outbreak contributes to workers leaving their positions due to fear of infection and community distrust of government and HCWs, while preparedness has been associated with increased team spirit. [12][13][14][15] Unfortunately, low-resource countries, like Ghana, experience multilevel barriers to preparedness due to limited resources and weak healthcare infrastructure.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Perceived preparedness to respond to the COVID-19 pandemic: a study with healthcare workers in Ghana

et al. 2020

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Background: Healthcare workers' (HCWs) preparedness to respond to pandemics is critical to containing disease spread. Low-and middle-income countries, however, experience barriers to preparedness due to limited resources. In Ghana, a country with a constrained healthcare system, we examined HCWs' perceived preparedness to respond to coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) and associated factors. Methods: The 472 HCWs completed questions in a cross-sectional self-administered online survey. Perceived preparedness was assessed using a 15-question scale (Cronbach alpha = 0.91) and summative scores were created (range = 0-45). Higher scores meant greater perceived preparedness, with scores ≥ 30 considered prepared. We used linear regression with robust standard errors to examine associations between perceived preparedness and potential predictors. Results: About 27.8% of HCWs felt prepared to respond to COVID-19. The average perceived preparedness score was 24 (standard deviation = 8.9). In multivariate analysis, factors associated with higher perceived preparedness were: training (β = 3.35, 95% confidence interval [CI], 2.01-4.69); having adequate personal protective equipment (PPE; β = 2.27, 95% CI, 0.26, 4.29), an isolation ward (β = 2.74, 95% CI, 1.15, 4.33), and protocols for screening (β = 2.76, 95% CI, 0.95, 4.58); and good perceived communication from management (β = 5.37, 95% CI, 4.03, 7.90). When added to the model, perceived knowledge decreased the effect of training by 28.0%, although training remained significant, suggesting a partial mediating role. Perceived knowledge was associated with a 6-point increase in perceived preparedness score (β = 6.04, 95% CI, 4.19, 7.90). Conclusion: HCWs reported low perceived preparedness to respond to COVID-19. Training, clear protocols, PPE availability, isolation wards, and communication play an important role in increasing preparedness. Government and other stakeholders must institute interventions to increase HCWs' preparedness to respond to the ongoing pandemic and prepare for future pandemics.

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“…The copyright holder for this preprint this version posted June 20, 2020. ; https://doi.org/10.1101/2020.06.19.20135996 doi: medRxiv preprint P a g e 3 o f 1 6 played a role in infection prevention and control, and in caring for people during crises (Corless et al, 2018). The COVID-19 pandemic has been no exception.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

The support needs of Australian primary health care nurses during the COVID-19 pandemic

Halcomb

Williams

Ashley

et al. 2020

Preprint

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Aim: To identify Australian primary healthcare nurses immediate support needs during the COVID-19 pandemic. Background: COVID-19 has had widespread implications for primary healthcare nurses. Supporting these nurses' capacity to deliver quality care ensures that ongoing health needs can be met. Methods: Primary healthcare nurses were recruited to an online survey via social media and professional organisations in April 2020. Results: Six-hundred and thirty-seven responses were included in analysis. Participants provided 1213 statements about perceived supports required to provide quality clinical care. From these, seven key categories emerged, namely; personal protective equipment, communication, funding, industrial issues, self-care, workplace factors and valuing nurses. Conclusion: A number of key issues relating to personal health and safety, care quality, and job security need to be addressed to support primary healthcare nurses during the COVID-19 pandemic. Addressing these support issues can assist in retaining nurses and optimising the role of primary healthcare nurses during a pandemic. Implications for nursing management: Responding to the needs of primary healthcare nurses has the potential to facilitate their role in providing community-based healthcare. This knowledge can guide the provision of support for primary healthcare nurses during the current pandemic, as well as informing planning for future health crises.

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Expanding nursing's role in responding to global pandemics 5/14/2018

Cited by 41 publications

References 7 publications

Community Health Workers and Pandemic Preparedness: Current and Prospective Roles

Community Health Workers and Pandemic Preparedness: Current and Prospective Roles

Perceived preparedness to respond to the COVID-19 pandemic: a study with healthcare workers in Ghana

The support needs of Australian primary health care nurses during the COVID-19 pandemic

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