Various factors affecting the perceptions of emergency nurses toward their professional duties during the influenza pandemic were identified. By understanding these perceptions, appropriate planning, policies, and guidelines can be formulated to meet the healthcare needs of patients during future pandemic outbreaks.

This study offers important insights for devising future strategies in enhancing nurses' preparedness and response to an epidemic event. These include recommendations on providing education and training to nurses regarding infectious diseases, fostering institutional assistance and support in an outbreak and revising government policies and planning.

Purpose : Emergency nurses are engaged in the management of epidemic events that unfold along with the evolution of diseases. The goal of this study was to explore the contextual factors that inhibited the ability of emergency nurses to perform their duties in response to an outbreak. Methods : A qualitative descriptive design was used to explore the experiences and perceptions of emergency nurses. Participants were purposively recruited from 12 emergency departments in Hong Kong. Semi-structured face-to-face individual interviews were conducted with 26 emergency nurses. The audio-recorded interviews were transcribed verbatim and interpreted with a thematic analysis approach. Results : Four intertwined themes emerged from the analysis: resource constraints, threats of infection, ubiquitous changes and lingering uncertainties. These themes portrayed the constraints and challenges surrounding the work environment of emergency nurses. Conclusion : This study described the instabilities and vulnerabilities of the circumstances in which the emergency nurses were situated in during epidemic events. The findings shed light on the importance of hospitals and emergency departments in addressing both the technical problems and adaptive challenges that face emergency nurses during epidemic events.

2020) Emergency nurses' perceptions regarding the risks appraisal of the threat of the emerging infectious disease situation in emergency departments, ABSTRACT Purpose: Emerging infectious diseases are considered as a pressing challenge to global public health. Throughout public health response to emerging infectious diseases, emergency nurses are situated at the forefront of the healthcare system. The present study has explored emergency nurses' perceptions regarding the risks appraisal of the threat of the emerging infectious disease situation in emergency department context. Methods: The present study used a qualitative descriptive approach. A purposive sampling method was employed to recruit emergency nurses who worked in public hospitals in Hong Kong. Semi-structured interviews were conducted to 24 emergency nurses. The data were interpreted using a thematic analysis strategy. Results: Five overarching themes emerged from the data: (1) the novelty of an emerging infectious disease, (2) the severity of an emerging infectious disease, (3) the proximity to an emerging 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 and behaviours of emergency nurses in future impending epidemic events, enhancing emergency nurses' preparedness towards in such situations.

Background Stroke is one of the leading causes of disability in China and worldwide, affecting the health and well-being of both stroke survivors and their family caregivers (i.e. stroke dyads). Dyadic interventions targeting both as active participants can be beneficial for the dyads’ health and well-being. Psychoeducation is a potentially acceptable approach to developing participants’ knowledge about their disease management to promote their recovery. This study aims to explore the feasibility, acceptability, and preliminary effects of a family-focused dyadic psychoeducational intervention for stroke dyads. Methods This study was a single-blinded, parallel-group randomised controlled trial. Totally, a convenience sample of 40 stroke dyads was recruited. The intervention included three in-hospital face-to-face education sessions and four weekly post-discharge follow-up telephone counselling sessions. Feasibility was assessed by the rates of recruitment, attritions, and adherence to the intervention. Acceptability was evaluated via semi-structured qualitative interviews. Preliminary intervention effects were evaluated on primary (survivors’ functioning and caregivers’ burden) and secondary (caregivers’ competence and dyads’ coping, depressive and anxiety symptoms, family functioning, and dyadic relationship) outcomes. Results Intervention feasibility was established with satisfactory recruitment (76.9%), attrition (10%), and intervention completion (75%) rates. Qualitative interviews suggested that the intervention was acceptable and useful to stroke dyads. The intervention effects on survivors’ functioning were significant in the memory and thinking (F = 8.39, p = 0.022, η = 0.18) and mobility (F = 5.37, p = 0.026, η = 0.12) domains, but not significant on their overall functioning (F = 2.39, p = 0.131). Caregiver burden in the intervention group was significantly greater reduced at post-test than the control group, with a large effect size (F = 7.55, p = 0.013, η = 0.28). For secondary outcomes, this intervention suggested a significant effect on caregivers’ competence (F = 5.20, p = 0.034, η = 0.22), but non-significant effects on other outcomes. Conclusions The family-focused dyadic psychoeducation programme was feasible and acceptable for stroke dyads and showed preliminary effects for stroke dyads. These findings support a larger-scale controlled trial to further examine its intervention effects over a longer-term follow-up. Trial registration This study was retrospectively registered as a randomised controlled trial in the ISRCTN Registry. Registration Date: October 10, 2022. Registration Number: ISRCTN18158500.

Background: although emergency nurses have a pivotal role in the public health response to epidemics, little is known about their responsibilities and practice in terms of epidemic management. Aims: this study aimed to explore how emergency nurses understand and perform their professional roles and practice during epidemics. Methods: a qualitative descriptive study design was used. Data were collected from 24 participants through semistructured interviews and subjected to thematic analysis. Findings: the analysis yielded two overarching themes: expansion in the practice of emergency care; and the altered role of emergency nurses. Conclusion: emergency nurses perceive their practice during the management of an epidemic expanded in that they shouldered a greater responsibility in the control of infectious diseases. This expansion led to role ambiguity among them.

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It is important to customise guidelines to the needs of frontline nurses. Maintaining cross-departmental consensus on guideline interpretation and operation is also indicated as an important component for effective guideline implementation.