Critical care nurses' self-efficacy during the COVID-19 pandemic: a cross-sectional study

As frontline healthcare workers, nurses played major roles during the COVID-19 pandemic, especially in intensive care units (ICUs) where severe cases were managed. In this cross-sectional study, ICU nurses in Riyadh, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, were surveyed to examine their self-efficacy during the pandemic. Hence, this study aimed to assess the level of SE among ICU nurses, and to explore its associations and differences based on specific sociodemographic and work-related factors.

The data obtained from 135 ICU nurses using a self-administered validated General Self Efficacy (GSE) scale was subjected to the analysis of variance and Spearman coefficient Pearson correlation tests.

The self-efficacy score (31.8 ± 7.46) varied significantly according to age, nationality, and religion (at p = 0.04, 0.00, and 0.002, respectively). Older nurses tended to provide more favorable responses to the GSE items. Indian nurses exhibited the highest self-efficacy levels, followed by their Filipino counterparts, while Saudi nurses demonstrated the lowest levels.

According to ICU nurses' self-reported GSE scale responses, they demonstrated a high level of self-efficacy during the pandemic. While these findings are based on a small and relatively homogenous cohort recruited at a single healthcare institution, they suggest that greater access to training and mentorship will enable Saudi ICU nurses to confidently and efficiently take increasingly independent and complex clinical roles.