Aim: The aim of this work is to explore the influencing factors of nurses' caring behaviour during the COVID-19 pandemic based on the Capability, Opportunity, Motivation as determinants of Behaviour (COM-B) theoretical framework.
Background: Nurse caring behaviour is vital to reduce and speed up the healing process of COVID-19 patients. It is important to understand the factors that influence caring behaviour among nurses during the COVID-19 pandemic. Research suggests that when it comes to understanding behaviour, using a theoretical framework is likely to be most effective, and the COM-B framework is a recommended approach.
Methods: Semistructured interviews with 42 nurses working in 11 Chinese cities were conducted, and their verbatim statements were transcribed and analysed using thematic analysis. The results were mapped to COM-B framework.
Results: Ten key themes emerged: Capability (professional knowledge and skills, emotional intelligence, cross-cultural care competence); opportunity (resources, organizational culture, social culture); motivation (past experience, character, role, beliefs).
Conclusions: Ten factors were found to influence nurses' caring behaviour. This study added two new influencing factors, social culture and past experiences, that further contributed to the understanding of nurses' care behaviours.
Implications for nursing management: Nurses' caring behaviour is influenced not only by themselves but also by institutions and society, so interventions aiming to improve their caring behaviour should consider these elements. The negative impact of the pandemic on capability factors that influence nurses' caring behaviour should be counteracted as soon as possible.
Keywords: COVID-19; capability; caring behaviour; motivation; nurse; opportunity.
© 2022 John Wiley & Sons Ltd.