Behavioral factors influencing Chuuk state hospital nurses’ care of COVID-19/infectious disease patients: Basis for program development

This study examined the factors affecting nursing care for infectious disease patients at Chuuk State Hospital, focusing on five behavioral domains: physical, personal, emotional, psychological, and life experience. Using a descriptive-correlational design, the study assessed the extent to which these factors influenced nursing care and determined their relationship with selected demographic variables. Data were analyzed using the weighted mean and the chi-square test of association. Findings revealed that personal factors had the highest overall mean (M = 4.04), followed by life experience factors (M = 3.99), emotional factors (M = 3.73), and psychological factors (M = 3.68), all of which were interpreted as highly affected. In contrast, physical factors had the lowest overall mean (M = 3.37), indicating a moderate effect. These findings suggest that nursing care in infectious disease settings was influenced more strongly by internal nurse-related strengths, including professional commitment, emotional resilience, psychological adaptability, and prior experience, than by physical or environmental conditions alone. In terms of demographic relationships, age was significantly associated only with personal factors, while sex and length of service showed no significant relationship with any of the five domains. Unit or ward assignment was significantly related only to physical factors, indicating that environmental and resource-related conditions differed by work area, whereas internal and experiential dimensions were generally shared across demographic groups. The study concludes that effective nursing care for infectious disease patients depends not only on adequate physical resources but, more importantly, on nurses’ personal and professional capacities. Strengthening staffing, workplace support systems, and professional development may improve care quality and sustainability.