Levels of Readiness Toward Nursing Prescribing Among Community Nurses: A Descriptive Study

Abstract

BACKGROUND: Nurse prescribing has been implemented in several European countries under different regulatory and organizational frameworks. In Italy, this competence is not yet formally regulated, and evidence regarding community nurses’ perceptions of its potential introduction remains limited.

AIMS: To describe Italian community nurses’ perceptions of the appropriateness of selected care activities potentially attributable to nurse prescribing and their perceived readiness for its possible implementation.

METHODS: A descriptive cross-sectional observational study was conducted using a purpose-built online questionnaire. A total of 315 nurses with community care experience were recruited. Data were analyzed using descriptive statistics.

RESULTS: Participants reported high levels of perceived appropriateness for most of the proposed care activities. Overall, 95.2% believed that introducing nurse prescribing could reduce waiting times for selected healthcare services. The findings indicate a generally favorable attitude toward expanding nursing responsibilities within community care. CONCLUSIONS: These findings should be interpreted as exploratory because of the descriptive design, convenience sampling, and use of a non-validated questionnaire. Nevertheless, they suggest positive perceptions toward nurse prescribing among Italian community nurses and support the need for further research using representative samples, validated instruments, and more rigorous study designs to evaluate its feasibility, required competencies, and organizational implications.