Nurses' Fears and Professional Obligations Concerning Possible Human-to-Human Avian Flu

Abstract

This survey aimed to illustrate factors that contribute to nurses' fear when faced with a possible human-to-human avian flu pandemic and their willingness to care for patients with avian flu in Taiwan. The participants were nursing students with a lesser nursing credential who were currently enrolled in a bachelor degree program in a private university in southern Taiwan. Nearly 42% of the nurses did not think that, if there were an outbreak of avian flu, their working hospitals would have sufficient infection control measures and equipment to prevent nosocomial infection in their working environment. About 57% of the nurse participants indicated that they were willing to care for patients infected with avian influenza. Nurses' fear about an unknown infectious disease, such as the H5N1 influenza virus, could easily be heightened to levels above those occurring during the 2003 severe acute respiratory syndrome outbreak in Taiwan.

Keywords

avian flu fear H5N1 nurse pandemic professional obligation

Get full access to this article

View all access options for this article.

References

World Health Organization . Avian influenza: frequently asked questions. 2005. Retrieved 17 December, 2005, from: http://www.who.int/csr/disease/avian_influenza/avian_faqs/en/print.html

World Health Organization . Cumulative number of confirmed human cases of avian influenza A/(H5N1) reported to WHO. 9 February, 2006. Retrieved 11 February, 2006, from: http://www.who.int/csr/disease/avian_influenza/country/cases_table_2006_02_09/en/index.html

Centers for Disease Control and Prevention . US Department of Health and Human Services. Pandemic influenza update. 9 November, 2005. Retrieved 17 December, 2005, from: http://www.pandemicflu.gov

Centers for Disease Control and Prevention . US Department of Health and Human Services. Pandemic flu: key facts. 2005. Retrieved 17 December, 2005, from http://www.cdc.gov/flu/pandemic/keyfacts.htm

Taubenberger JK , Morens DM . Influenza revisited . Emerg Infect Dis 2006; 12: 1–2 .

Fear of avian influenza is a double-edged sword [Editorial] . Lancet 2005; 366: 1751-1751 .

Tzeng H-M , Yin C-Y . Is H5N1 like a ghost-flu that can cause a pandemic in humans? [Comment] Nurs Ethics 2006; 13: 219–221 .

International Council of Nurses . The ICN code of ethics for nurses. ICN, 2000.

Centers for Disease Control and Prevention . US Department of Health and Human Services . State and local pandemic influenza planning checklist. 2005. Retrieved 17 December, 2005, from: http://www.cdc.gov/flu/pandemic/highlights.htm

10.

Tzeng H-M . Nurses' professional obligation and their attitudes towards SARS infection control measures in Taiwan during and after the 2003 epidemic . Nurs Ethics 2004; 11: 277–289 .

11.

Sthör K . Avian influenza and pandemics – Research needs and opportunities . N Engl J Med 2005; 352: 405–407 .

12.

Dolin R . Influenza – interpandemic as well as pandemic disease . N Engl J Med 2005; 353: 2535–2537 .

13.

Merriam–Webster Online . Merriam–Webster online dictionary. Merriam–Webster, 2005. Retrieved 19 December, 2005 from: http://www.m-w.com/cgi-bin/dictionary

14.

Agras S , Sylvester D , Oliveau D . The epidemiology of common fears and phobias . Compr Psychiatry 1969; 10: 151–156 .

15.

American Psychiatric Association . Diagnostic and statistical manual of mental disorders.APA, 2000.

16.

Bartnof HS . Health care professional education and AIDS . Death Stud 1988; 12: 547–562 .

17.

Person B , Sy F , Holton K , Govert B , Liang A , the NCID/SARS Community Outreach Team . Fear and stigma: the epidemic within the SARS outbreak . Emerg Infect Dis 2004; 10: 358–363 .

18.

Tzeng H-M , Yin C-Y . Learning to respect a patient's spiritual needs concerning an unknown infectious disease . Nurs Ethics 2006; 13: 17–28 .

19.

World Health Organization . World Health Assembly adopts new international health regulations: new rules govern national and international response to disease outbreaks. 2005. Retrieved 17 February, 2006, from: http://www.who.int/mediacentre/news/releases/2005/pr_wha03/en/print.html

20.

World Health Organization . Avian influenza (‘bird flu’) – Fact sheet. February 2006. Retrieved 17 February, 2006, from: http://www.who.int/mediacentre/factsheets/avian_influenza/en/print.html

21.

World Health Organization . WHO pandemic influenza draft protocol for rapid response and containment. 27 January, 2006. Retrieved 17 February, 2006, from: http://www.who.int/mediacentre/news/releases/2005/pr_wha03/en/print.html