Development of Infectious Disease Emergency Response Competencies for Nurses in China: A Delphi Study and an Analytic Hierarchy Process

Aim. To develop a set of infectious disease emergency response competencies specific to frontline nurses in China. Background. Nurses play an important role in the infectious disease emergency response. Competency-based training is the cornerstone of the professionalization of disaster rescue, including the infectious disease emergency response. Accordingly, reaching a consensus on a set of core competencies is essential. However, information regarding the competencies needed for nurses in the infectious disease emergency response is limited. Methods. A literature review and in-depth expert interviews were conducted to establish a draft of competencies, which consisted of 53 items, including 3 first-level index items, 12 second-level index items, and 38 third-level index items. Eighteen experts with the knowledge of infectious disease management and experience with infectious disease emergency rescue from different regions in China were recruited for Delphi consultation. A two-round Delphi survey was conducted via email. Consensus was defined as a mean importance value >4.5 and the coefficient of variation <0.25 among the experts. Finally, the analytic hierarchy process was used to determine the weight of each index on which consensus had been reached. Results. An index system of infectious disease emergency response competencies for nurses was constructed, including 3 first-level indices (knowledge, attitudes, and skills), 10 second-level indices, and 32 third-level indices. The response rates of the two rounds of the Delphi survey were both 100%, and the authority coefficient of the 18 experts was 0.903. The weighted value of each index was established with a consistency ratio <0.1, demonstrating that skill (0.5396) ranked first among the three first-level indices, followed by knowledge (0.2970) and attitudes (0.1634). Conclusion. The study developed a consensus on infectious disease emergency response competencies required for nurses in China, which provides guidance for the assessment and training of nurses on infectious disease emergency response. Implications for Nursing Management. According to the competency index system, nursing managers could develop effective training programs of infectious disease emergency response competency for nurses and select competent nurses for emergency response to infectious diseases.