Professional identity and supporting willingness of nurses during the COVID-19 epidemic in China

Abstract

Aim: To investigate the professional identities and the willingness of nurses to respond to the call for support during the COVID-19 epidemic. Background: The COVID-19 epidemic has resulted in nearly 300 million cases worldwide, causing more than five million deaths. However, the professional identities and the willingness of nurses to provide support during the COVID-19 epidemic in China remain unclear. Methods: A total of 1,505 eligible nurses from 120 hospitals during the COVID-19 outbreak in China were included. Questionnaires were used to evaluate the willingness of these nurses to participate in epidemic control efforts. The Nurses' Professional Identity Scale was used to measure their sense of professional identity. Results: About 90% of the nurses were willing to lend support in Hubei Province during the epidemic. The most common reason (93.84%) was found to be their beliefs as medical personnel in helping others in need. Nearly 10% of the nurses were unwilling to go to Hubei, primarily due to family reasons. The average total score of the Professional Identity Scale for all nurses reached a moderate to high level as indication of professional identity (116–125). Nurses who were willing to go to Hubei had a significantly higher total score than those who were not. Conclusions: The professional identity of nurses in China improved during the epidemic, and those with higher professional identities were more likely to respond to calls for support during the epidemic.