A Pilot Study of Nurse Practitioners' Perceived Competencies and Attitudes towards Patients Living with Sickle Cell Disease

Background: Nurse practitioners (NPs) play an important role for patients with sickle cell disease (SCD), an inherited hemoglobinopathy that most often affects African Americans in the United States. This pilot study aimed to understand the perceived NP competencies and attitudes toward patients living with SCD.Methods: This was a cross-sectional descriptive pilot study with a convenience sample (N 1/4 32) of NPs who completed an 80-item online survey.Results: The sample was 74.19% White and 90% female. NPs reported lower key competencies and some negative attitudes about patients with SCD.Conclusion: Interventions are necessary to improve NP SCD competencies and attitudes.(c) 2023 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Automated summary

The study found that nurse practitioners have lower competencies and negative attitudes towards patients with sickle cell disease, indicating the need for interventions to improve their competencies and attitudes.