The Social and Professional Image of the Nurse: Results of an Online Snowball Sampling Survey among the General Population in the Post-Pandemic Period
<i>Background</i>. The COVID-19 pandemic has transformed people’s lifestyles by imposing social, economic, and labor changes. Health professionals have been in the spotlight, occasionally even elevated to the status of “heroes”, as they have been at the forefront of the health emergency....
| Main Authors: | , , , , , , , , , , , , |
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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MDPI AG
2023-09-01
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| Series: | Nursing Reports |
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| Online Access: | https://www.mdpi.com/2039-4403/13/3/109 |
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| author | Ivan Rubbi Roberto Lupo Alessia Lezzi Valeria Cremonini Maicol Carvello Martina Caricato Luana Conte Marcello Antonazzo Cosimo Caldararo Stefano Botti Vincenzo Andretta Pio Lattarulo Elsa Vitale |
| author_facet | Ivan Rubbi Roberto Lupo Alessia Lezzi Valeria Cremonini Maicol Carvello Martina Caricato Luana Conte Marcello Antonazzo Cosimo Caldararo Stefano Botti Vincenzo Andretta Pio Lattarulo Elsa Vitale |
| author_sort | Ivan Rubbi |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | <i>Background</i>. The COVID-19 pandemic has transformed people’s lifestyles by imposing social, economic, and labor changes. Health professionals have been in the spotlight, occasionally even elevated to the status of “heroes”, as they have been at the forefront of the health emergency. Media exposure has undoubtedly played a pivotal role in the evolution and perception of the public’s image of nurses, especially within the Italian context. Currently, there is only one study conducted in Italy during the pandemic period. For this reason, we have opted to delve further into this subject during the post-pandemic period, with the ultimate goal of identifying this perceptual evolution. <i>Methods</i>. An online snowball sampling survey was conducted among the Italian population using social networks between August 2022 and January 2023. The survey utilized the Nursing Attitude Questionnaire (NAQ) to collect data. <i>Results</i>. The sample consisted of 564 individuals. Among the respondents, 63.8% (n = 360) were familiar with the nursing pathway, and the level of agreement regarding the training of nurses was 81.5% (n = 260). In terms of recognizing the professional role of nurses, variations emerged in certain domains of the NAQ. Specifically, professional values of nurses were more pronounced in northern and central Italy (M = 26.27). Moreover, stereotypes were more prevalent in the north (23.73 ± 3.538) and the center (23.13 ± 4.104) (<i>p</i> = 0.001). <i>Conclusions</i>. The sample acknowledged a unique competence inherent to nurses that cannot be replaced by other professionals. The study population perceives the nursing profession as pivotal within the IHS (Integrated Health System). However, the attractiveness of the profession remains exceedingly low. This study was not registered on a publicly available registry. |
| first_indexed | 2024-03-10T22:21:05Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-36a1c37d0078425daa4faeea82ecda2d |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 2039-439X 2039-4403 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-03-10T22:21:05Z |
| publishDate | 2023-09-01 |
| publisher | MDPI AG |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Nursing Reports |
| spelling | doaj.art-36a1c37d0078425daa4faeea82ecda2d2023-11-19T12:16:38ZengMDPI AGNursing Reports2039-439X2039-44032023-09-011331291130310.3390/nursrep13030109The Social and Professional Image of the Nurse: Results of an Online Snowball Sampling Survey among the General Population in the Post-Pandemic PeriodIvan Rubbi0Roberto Lupo1Alessia Lezzi2Valeria Cremonini3Maicol Carvello4Martina Caricato5Luana Conte6Marcello Antonazzo7Cosimo Caldararo8Stefano Botti9Vincenzo Andretta10Pio Lattarulo11Elsa Vitale12School of Nursing, University of Bologna, AUSL Romagna, 40121 Bologna, Italy‘San Giuseppe da Copertino’ Hospital, ASL (Local Health Authority) Lecce, 73100 Lecce, ItalyANT Italia ONLUS Foundation (National Cancer Association), 73100 Lecce, ItalySchool of Nursing, University of Bologna, AUSL Romagna, 40121 Bologna, ItalyBrisighella Community Hospital, Azienda USL della Romagna, 48013 Brisighella, Italy“Istituto per i Servizi alla Persona per l’Europa” (I.S.P.E.R.S.A.), 73043 Copertino, ItalyLaboratory of Biomedical Physics and Environment, Department of Mathematics and Physics “E. De Giorgi”, University of Salento, 73100 Lecce, ItalyASL (Local Health Authority) Lecce, 73100 Lecce, ItalyDipartimento di Scienze e Tecnologie Biologiche ed Ambientali, University of Salento, 73100 Lecce, ItalyAzienda USL-IRCCS Reggio Emilia, 42122 Reggio Emilia, ItalyUOC Programmazione e Controllo di Gestione AOU San Giovanni di Dio e RUGGI d’Aragona, 84131 Salerno, ItalyASL (Local Health Authority) Taranto, 74121 Taranto, ItalyASL (Local Health Authority) Bari, 70026 Modugno, Italy<i>Background</i>. The COVID-19 pandemic has transformed people’s lifestyles by imposing social, economic, and labor changes. Health professionals have been in the spotlight, occasionally even elevated to the status of “heroes”, as they have been at the forefront of the health emergency. Media exposure has undoubtedly played a pivotal role in the evolution and perception of the public’s image of nurses, especially within the Italian context. Currently, there is only one study conducted in Italy during the pandemic period. For this reason, we have opted to delve further into this subject during the post-pandemic period, with the ultimate goal of identifying this perceptual evolution. <i>Methods</i>. An online snowball sampling survey was conducted among the Italian population using social networks between August 2022 and January 2023. The survey utilized the Nursing Attitude Questionnaire (NAQ) to collect data. <i>Results</i>. The sample consisted of 564 individuals. Among the respondents, 63.8% (n = 360) were familiar with the nursing pathway, and the level of agreement regarding the training of nurses was 81.5% (n = 260). In terms of recognizing the professional role of nurses, variations emerged in certain domains of the NAQ. Specifically, professional values of nurses were more pronounced in northern and central Italy (M = 26.27). Moreover, stereotypes were more prevalent in the north (23.73 ± 3.538) and the center (23.13 ± 4.104) (<i>p</i> = 0.001). <i>Conclusions</i>. The sample acknowledged a unique competence inherent to nurses that cannot be replaced by other professionals. The study population perceives the nursing profession as pivotal within the IHS (Integrated Health System). However, the attractiveness of the profession remains exceedingly low. This study was not registered on a publicly available registry.https://www.mdpi.com/2039-4403/13/3/109COVID-19general populationnurseprofessional image |
| spellingShingle | Ivan Rubbi Roberto Lupo Alessia Lezzi Valeria Cremonini Maicol Carvello Martina Caricato Luana Conte Marcello Antonazzo Cosimo Caldararo Stefano Botti Vincenzo Andretta Pio Lattarulo Elsa Vitale The Social and Professional Image of the Nurse: Results of an Online Snowball Sampling Survey among the General Population in the Post-Pandemic Period Nursing Reports COVID-19 general population nurse professional image |
| title | The Social and Professional Image of the Nurse: Results of an Online Snowball Sampling Survey among the General Population in the Post-Pandemic Period |
| title_full | The Social and Professional Image of the Nurse: Results of an Online Snowball Sampling Survey among the General Population in the Post-Pandemic Period |
| title_fullStr | The Social and Professional Image of the Nurse: Results of an Online Snowball Sampling Survey among the General Population in the Post-Pandemic Period |
| title_full_unstemmed | The Social and Professional Image of the Nurse: Results of an Online Snowball Sampling Survey among the General Population in the Post-Pandemic Period |
| title_short | The Social and Professional Image of the Nurse: Results of an Online Snowball Sampling Survey among the General Population in the Post-Pandemic Period |
| title_sort | social and professional image of the nurse results of an online snowball sampling survey among the general population in the post pandemic period |
| topic | COVID-19 general population nurse professional image |
| url | https://www.mdpi.com/2039-4403/13/3/109 |
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