Emergency nurses’ perceptions regarding the risks appraisal of the threat of the emerging infectious disease situation in emergency departments

摘要

Purpose: Emerging infectious diseases are considered as a pressing challenge to globalpublic health. Throughout public health response to emerging infectious diseases, emergencynurses are situated at the forefront of the healthcare system. The present study has exploredemergency nurses’ perceptions regarding the risks appraisal of the threat of the emerginginfectious disease situation in emergency department context.Methods: The present study used a qualitative descriptive approach. A purposive samplingmethod was employed to recruit emergency nurses who worked in public hospitals in HongKong. Semi-structured interviews were conducted to 24 emergency nurses. The data wereinterpreted using a thematic analysis strategy.Results: Five overarching themes emerged from the data: (1) the novelty of an emerginginfectious disease, (2) the severity of an emerging infectious disease, (3) the proximity to anemerging infectious disease, (4) the complexity of an emerging infectious disease situation,and (5) the response levels towards an emerging infectious disease situation.Conclusion: It is anticipated that the information may help to predict the attitudes andbehaviours of emergency nurses in future impending epidemic events, enhancing emergencynurses’ preparedness towards in such situations.