Effect of a Tabletop Program for Training Emerging Infectious Disease Responses in Nurses at Small- to Medium-Sized Hospitals in Areas with Poor Healthcare Access

This study developed and evaluated a tabletop program for training nurses working in small-to medium-sized hospitals in areas with poor healthcare access for emerging a tabletop program for training emerging infectious disease responses in nurses working at small-to medium-sized hospitals in areas with poor healthcare access and evaluated infectious disease responses. A tabletop program for training responses to emerging infectious diseases was provided to 29 nurses at a general hospital with <300 beds in a region without a tertiary general hospital or healthcare institution with nationally designated inpatient wards for patients with infectious diseases. The 180 min program consisted of an online theoretical lecture (Phase 1), one-on-one drills (Phase 2), and a scenario-based tabletop exercise (Phase 3). To evaluate the program's effect, pre-and post-knowledge, awareness, and competencies related to responses to emerging infectious diseases were assessed. The mean knowledge score significantly improved from 11.41 +/- 2.33 before the training to 16.69 +/- 2.48 after the training (z = -4.529, p < 0.001). The mean awareness score significantly improved from 80.83 +/- 11.94 before the training to 85.45 +/- 7.08 after the training (z = -2.335, p = 0.020). The mean competence score significantly increased from 67.31 +/- 14.75 before the training to 79.38 +/- 10.39 after the training (t = -6.187, p < 0.001). The tabletop exercise program effectively enhanced the nurses' competencies in responding to emerging infectious diseases. The training program developed in this study may be utilized in addition to a simplified theoretical lecture to train nurses to improve their competency in responding to emerging infectious diseases.

Automated summary

This study developed and evaluated a tabletop program for training nurses working in small-to medium-sized hospitals in areas with poor healthcare access for emerging infectious disease responses. The program consisted of online theoretical lecture, one-on-one drills, and a scenario-based tabletop exercise. The results showed that the tabletop exercise program effectively enhanced nurses' competencies in responding to emerging infectious diseases.