Abstract
BACKGROUND: The outbreak of COVID-19 as a global disaster has required nurses, as front-line providers of safe and quality care to patients with this disease, for proper disaster management to have a high level of competence, which demands an acceptable level of knowledge, attitude, and performance. Therefore, this study was conducted to model the relationship between knowledge, attitude, and performance with the competence of nurses caring for patients with COVID-19 regarding disaster management. METHODS: This descriptive-correlational study was conducted on 291 hospital nurses using the structural equation modeling approach in three provinces of Iran, including Kerman, Hormozgan, and Fars, from June to December 2021. Data were collected through a researcher-made questionnaire that provided information on demographics, knowledge, attitude, performance, and competence regarding disaster management. Data analysis, which included descriptive and inferential statistics, was performed using SPSS and AMOS software. Moreover, the structural equation modeling method was based on the covariance to examine the proposed model of the relationship between knowledge, attitude, and performance with nurses' competence. RESULTS: The study revealed that the nurses had average knowledge, acceptable attitudes, high performance, and acceptable competence scores. A positive and significant relationship was found between knowledge, attitude, and performance with nurses' competencies (P < 00.05). Furthermore, the coefficient of determination of nurses' competence in the modified structural model indicates that exogenous variables, namely knowledge, attitude, and performance, could predict 36 % of the changes in nurses' competence. Finally, the path coefficient of the effect of knowledge, attitude, and performance on nurses' competence was higher than 1.96. CONCLUSIONS: According to the study, although the knowledge, attitude, performance, and competence of nurses caring for patients with COVID-19 were at an acceptable level, there were obstacles to improving their competence. Hence, identifying and prioritizing educational needs and learning preferences based on their cultural backgrounds are also emphasized.