An Overview of the Theory of Planned Behavior Approach in Nursing Care for Dengue Fever Patients

BACKGROUND: The surge in cases of dengue hemorrhagic fever that occurred in East Sumba, Indonesia, in early 2019, required nurses to take a fast and appropriate attitude in dealing with patients. Professional nursing care is the basis in nursing services to overcome patient problems. AIM: This study aimed to obtain an overview of nursing care in dengue fever patients using the theory of planned behavior approach. METHODS: This study used a comparative non-experimental design with two approaches: A cross-sectional approach in the first stage and secondary data analysis in the second stage. This study was conducted in 2019 with 45 nurses determined by simple random sampling. Data were collected using questionnaires and observation sheets and analyzed with partial least square. RESULTS: Behavioral beliefs, evaluation of behavioral beliefs, normative beliefs, and motivation to comply with the majority of respondents are in the excellent range. Almost all respondents have a desire or intention to document complete nursing care, which is influenced by attitudes toward subjective behavior and norms, while perceived behavior control does not affect nurses’ intentions. CONCLUSION: Based on the theory of planned behavior, nurses carry out nursing care as a form of professional obligation, and its quality is determined by the nurse’s intention to behave.