Abstract
Aim
Nurses need a variety of skills, including the ability to communicate effectively, especially in challenging scenarios such as the COVID-19 pandemic. This study was conducted with the aim of evaluating the communication competence of nurses in this crisis. Design: This cross-sectional study is designed to investigate nurses’ communication competence during the COVID-19 pandemic at 16 principal and referral teaching hospitals in Shiraz, Iran.
Methods
Demographic variables and communication competence scale were completed by 1003 nurses with more than two years of experience in the referral teaching hospitals of Shiraz, selected by convenience sampling method. Data were analyzed using descriptive statistics, independent t-test, ANOVA and Pearson correlation.
Results
The mean score of nurses' communication competence in Covid-19 pandemic was 175.37 ± 17.71 out of a possible score range of 47–235. Participants rated different dimensions of nurse communication in Covid-19 pandemic slightly above the mean value of the answer scale, and the score of social relaxation in Covid-19 pandemic is closer to the mean value of the answer scale than the other dimensions. The results showed that nurses consider factors such as education level, active listening and the use of personal protective equipment to be effective in communication competence during covid-19.