Out and about: Factors associated with nurses' use of COVID-19 personal protective behaviors when not at work.

Aim: To characterize nurses' engagement in Centers for Disease Control and Prevention promoted personal protective behaviors (PPBs) outside the work setting during the COVID-19 pandemic and factors that inform engagement in these behaviors.

Background: Nurses' health is of vital importance to the functioning of the healthcare system. Little is known as to what informs nurses' use of PPBs outside the work setting.

Design: Cross-sectional survey study.

Settings: A large healthcare system in the southeastern region of the United States.

Participants: Nine hundred fifty eight registered nurses.

Methods: Participants surveyed during the week of September 14th. Survey contained questions regarding factors that may be linked to nurses' compliance with PPBs.

Results: The most frequently reported behavior practiced outside work was "cover mouth with cough or sneeze." Concern for COVID-19 infection and confidence in masks to control the spread of COVID-19 were positively related to both frequency and number of protective behaviors engaged in (p < .01), while fatigue was inversely related to engagement with PPBs (p = .01). There was some evidence that viewing self as role model may predict behavior.

Conclusions: Personal factors drive engagement with protective behaviors outside the work setting. Implications for nursing management and education are explored.