The use of Community/Public Health Nursing Competencies during the COVID‐19 pandemic

Abstract

Objectives(1) Ascertain the use of the Quad Council Competencies for Community/Public Health Nursing (QCC‐C/PHN) Competencies by community/public health nurses (C/PHNs) during the COVID‐19 pandemic; (2) Inform from a systems‐level the need to sustain the C/PHN workforce; (3) Assess the C/PHN infrastructure for response capacity.DesignCross‐sectional. Statewide email distribution lists were used for dissemination.SampleConvenience sample (n = 169) obtained using emailed Qualtrics link with the eligibility criteria of self‐identification as a C/PHN who works in the state of Missouri.MeasurementsDemographic questions included employment sector, nursing education level, years of nursing, and C/PHN experience. Two Likert‐type questions and one optional open‐text question were created for the eight domains.ResultsOne hundred sixty‐nine participants’ data were analyzed. One hundred fifty‐four were employed in a local public health agency. Total 63.2% held a bachelor's degree in nursing or higher. The average number of years of nurse experience was 20.84, and C/PHN experience was 9.84. The domain of Communication Skills scored highest and Cultural Competency was the lowest. Three themes emerged from the open‐ended questions including vulnerabilities of the public health system.ConclusionUnderstanding the experiences of C/PHNs in Missouri related to the utilization of QCC‐C/PHN competencies informs efforts to strengthen public health infrastructure and target resources to equip Missouri's C/PHNs.