Stability in Crisis: Nurses' Attitudes and Self-Efficacy Towards Caring for Patients With Multidrug-Resistant Bacteria During the Pandemic.

Multidrug-resistant bacteria (MDRB) are microorganisms with global impact that also share modes of transmission with severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2. Nurses' attitudes and self-efficacy towards caring for patients with MDRB are crucial in understanding their preventive behaviour, and a pandemic may acquire extraordinary Infection Prevention and Control (IPC) measures. To explore trends in nurses' attitudes and self-efficacy when caring for patients with MDRB. This quantitative, prospective, longitudinal study used a repeated cross-sectional design. Nurses from 5 surgical wards and 2 oncology/haematology wards were invited to participate. The data were collected via 2 instruments: the Multidrug-Resistant Bacteria Attitude Questionnaire and the General Perceived Self-Efficacy Scale. The results were summarised with descriptive statistics, and longitudinal analyses were performed with mixed linear regression. No sample size calculations were made for this study. A total of 512 responses were received, the response rates for the time points were 60% (n = 131, T1), 32% (n = 72, T2), 47% (n = 109, T3), 48% (n = 108, T4), and 41% (n = 92, T5). No significant longitudinal changes in nurses' attitudes and self-efficacy regarding infection prevention and control when caring for patients with MDRB were found. However, a small but significant negative change in nurses' professional and emotional approach to caring for such patients was observed towards the end of the study period. A small but significant change in the nurses' self-efficacy was observed between May 2020 and March 2021, indicating an increase in infection control self-efficacy during the first year of the COVID-19 pandemic. The stable knowledge, behavioural intentions and emotional responses contradict similar international studies. Nonetheless, moderate but stable emotional responses and high self-efficacy may indicate mental resilience in the nursing workforce, a pandemic preparedness resource that should be preserved.