Abstract
Background and Objectives: The coronavirus disease pandemic is ongoing. Infection-prevention measures in nursing education (practicum) are essential. However, there are few studies on infection-prevention behaviors among nursing students participating in practicums. We aimed to clarify the effect of practicums during the coronavirus disease crisis on infection-prevention behavior in Japanese nursing students. Materials and Methods: We conducted semi-structured interviews with 13 third-year nursing students in Osaka City within one week of their clinical placement training. From the results of the interview analysis, we compiled a questionnaire and surveyed 90 third-year students. We conducted qualitative and quantitative analyses. We used descriptive statistics for the quantitative analysis and the chi-squared test for binary variables. Results: From the qualitative analysis, we identified five categories regarding the awareness of infection-prevention measures: <Acquisition of knowledge and skills in infection-prevention measures during nursing practice>, <Defining the experience in infection-prevention measures>, <Changes in attitude towards infection>, <Changes in infection prevention behavior>, and <infection-prevention measures-related issues>. In the quantitative analysis, the practicum students who attended at least three pre-practicum orientations continued wearing masks during lunch breaks and avoided the three Cs. Conclusions: Students could recall the knowledge and experiences gained from pre-practicum orientations/practicums. This experience created a new awareness of infection-prevention and change of infection-prevention behavior. Infection-prevention education using practicums is important for infection-prevention behavior during this pandemic. However, there should be a much larger-scale study to support these findings in the future.
Highlights
Coronavirus disease (COVID-19) is an infection caused by the severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2)
We found in the qualitative analysis that student awareness of infection-prevention measures (IPMs) in practicums during the COVID-19 crisis affected infection-prevention behavior (IPB) after the practicum
We created 15 subcategories from 48 codes related to nursing students’ awareness of IPMs for practicums during the COVID-19 crisis. They were aggregated into five categories as follows: , ,
Summary
Coronavirus disease (COVID-19) is an infection caused by the severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). In approximately 80% of patients with COVID-19, the disease is asymptomatic or mild. The disease can be fatal when a cytokine storm causes acute respiratory distress syndrome. The incubation period of SARS-CoV2 goes up to 14 days, and the infection usually develops within five days of exposure [1,2]. As of September 2021, there were 228,807,631 cases and 4,697,099 deaths worldwide [3], and 1,681,120 cases and 17,269 deaths in Japan [4]. There are visible long-term effects on nursing education due to the clusters developing in medical and nursing care facilities and the pressure placed on the medical profession resulting in the suspension of clinical placement practicums
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