Objective To develop a virtual reality simulation training programme, and further verify the effect of the programme on improving the response capacity of emergency reserve nurses confronting public health emergencies. Design A prospective quasiexperimental design with a control group. Participants A total of 120 nurses were recruited and randomly divided into the control group and the intervention group. Intervention Participants underwent a 3-month training. The control group received the conventional training of emergency response (eg, theoretical lectures, technical skills and psychological training), while the intervention group underwent the virtual reality simulation training in combination with skills training. The COVID-19 cases were incorporated into the intervention group training, and the psychological training was identical to both groups. At the end of the training, each group conducted emergency drills twice. Before and after the intervention, the two groups were assessed for the knowledge and technical skills regarding responses to fulminate respiratory infectious diseases, as well as the capacity of emergency care. Furthermore, their pandemic preparedness was assessed with a disaster preparedness questionnaire. Results After the intervention, the scores of the relevant knowledge, the capacity of emergency care and disaster preparedness in the intervention group significantly increased (p<0.01). The score of technical skills in the control group increased more significantly than that of the intervention group (p0.05). Conclusion The virtual reality simulation training in combination with technical skills training can improve the response capacity of emergency reserve nurses as compared with the conventional training. The findings of the study provide some evidence for the emergency training of reserve nurses in better response to public health emergencies and suggest this methodology is worthy of further research and popularisation.

Background: The adoption of digitization has emerged as a new trend in the advancement of healthcare systems. To ensure high-quality care, nurses should possess sufficient skills to assist in the digital transformation of healthcare practices. Suitable tools have seldom been developed to assess nurses’ skills in digital applications. This study aimed to develop the Nursing Digital Application Skill Scale (NDASS) and test its psychometric properties. Methods: The Nursing Digital Application Skill Scale was developed in three phases. In Phase 1, an item pool was developed based on previous literature and the actual situation of nursing work. Phase 2 included 14 experts’ assessment of content validity and a focus group interview with 30 nurses to pretest the scale. In phase 3, 429 registered nurses were selected from March to June 2023, and item analysis, exploratory factor analysis, and confirmatory factor analysis were used to refine the number of items and explore the factor structure of the scale. Additionally, reliability was determined by internal consistency and test-retest reliability. Results: The final version of the NDASS consisted of 12 items. The content validity index of NDASS reached 0.975 at an acceptable level. The convergent validity test showed that the average variance extracted value was 0.694 (> 0.5) and the composite reliability value was 0.964 (> 0.7), both of which met the requirements. The principal component analysis resulted in a single-factor structure explaining 74.794% of the total variance. All the fitting indices satisfied the standard based upon confirmatory factor analyses, indicating that the single-factor structure contributed to an ideal model fit. The internal consistency appeared high for the NDASS, reaching a Cronbach’s alpha value of 0.968. The test-retest reliability was 0.740, and the split-half coefficient was 0.935. Conclusion: The final version of the NDASS, which possesses adequate psychometric properties, is a reliable and effective instrument for nurses to self-assess digital skills in nursing work and for nursing managers in designing nursing digital skill training.

A standardized nursing handoff form was designed and implemented to improve handoff process, and rates of nursing errors were measured to determine the effectiveness of the intervention. This study was a prospective intervention study, using 1-group pretest-posttest quasi-experimental design, conducted on an inpatient medical unit. The rates of nursing errors decreased from 9.2 (95% confidence interval, 8.0-10.3) to 5.7 (95% confidence interval, 5.1-6.9) per 100 admissions (P < .001), comparing the pre- and postintervention periods.

Background: The prevalence of pulmonary tuberculosis among college students in Shaanxi is high. Although tuberculosis leaves much psychological and social impact on patients, little is known about its impact on college students. The objective of this study is to explore the experiences and psychological process of college students with pulmonary tuberculosis in Shaanxi, China. Methods: 17 college students with pulmonary tuberculosis were recruited purposively from 9 colleges in Shaanxi. In-depth interviews were conducted to collect data and a thematic framework analysis was used. Results: The participants reported that pulmonary tuberculosis deeply influenced their mental health. They were fearful to the nature of pulmonary tuberculosis at the stage of diagnosis, anxious about the illness before the period of diagnosis and the early week of the treatment, excessive worry immediately before the first recheck. They expected an early full recovery, bored on tedious treatment life and worried about future heath and prospects during the whole treatment phase. Their daily life was also influenced, namely discontinued studies, isolation and increased financial burden. They also reported that they could get strong supports from family members, while little supports from healthcare workers and their friends. Conclusions: The participants' psychological pressure was significant during the treatment. In addition, there was serious conflict between treatment and study; social support provided for them was insufficient. Healthcare workers should provide psychological support for college students with pulmonary tuberculosis according to the psychological characteristics and offer social support through strengthening communication with them. Colleges should follow governmental policies on TB exactly and provide opportunities for the patients to continue their studies.