Primary care nurses’ preparedness for COVID-19 in the Western Cape province, South Africa
African Journal of Primary Health Care & Family Medicine
| Field | Value | |
| Title | Primary care nurses’ preparedness for COVID-19 in the Western Cape province, South Africa | |
| Creator | Crowley, Talitha Kitshoff, Danine de Lange-Cloete, Frances Baron, Justine de Lange, Santel Young, Cornelle Esterhuizen, Tonya Couper, Ian | |
| Description | Introduction: The novel coronavirus 2019 or COVID-19 pandemic has brought about a global public health crisis. Primary care (PC) nurses render first line care, or refer for more specialised services.Aim: To investigate the preparedness of PC nurses for COVID-19 in the Western Cape.Setting: The Western Cape province of South Africa.Methods: We administered an online survey, with closed and open-ended questions, to 83 Stellenbosch University postgraduate PC nursing students and alumni working in the Western Cape, between 03 July and 01 September 2020.Results: The results indicated that 43.3% of participants were confident about the infection, prevention, and control (IPC) training they received and 56.7% felt prepared to provide direct care to suspected cases of COVID-19. Primary care nurses were more comfortable to triage (78.3%) than to manage persons with COVID-19 (42.2%), indicating that they may not be functioning to the full capacity of their education and training. Adequate infrastructure was reported by less than a third of the participants (30.1%) and 59.1% reported that personal protective equipment (PPE) was always available. Primary care nurses needed support in coping with stress (57.8%) although few (14.5%) reported access to mental health services.Conclusion: Primary care nurses were not prepared optimally for the COVID-19 pandemic. Challenges included adequate training, infrastructure, the availability of personal protective equipment, COVID-19 testing of health care workers and management support. Primary care nurses need comprehensive support to manage stress and anxiety. | |
| Publisher | AOSIS | |
| Date | 2021-05-28 | |
| Identifier | 10.4102/phcfm.v13i1.2879 | |
| Source | African Journal of Primary Health Care & Family Medicine; Vol 13, No 1 (2021); 8 pages 2071-2936 2071-2928 | |
| Language | eng | |
| Relation |
The following web links (URLs) may trigger a file download or direct you to an alternative webpage to gain access to a publication file format of the published article:
https://phcfm.org/index.php/phcfm/article/view/2879/4676
https://phcfm.org/index.php/phcfm/article/view/2879/4677
https://phcfm.org/index.php/phcfm/article/view/2879/4678
https://phcfm.org/index.php/phcfm/article/view/2879/4679
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