Nurses assigned the care of individuals with intellectual and developmental disabilities (IDD) individuals, practice within a fragmented healthcare system. Nurses face barriers of patient competence and capacity to consent, communication challenges, a shortage of specialty providers, and fiscal limitation. The COVID-19 pandemic triggered requests from registered nurses, for guidance related to the care of individuals with IDD and diagnosed with the Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome

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... , the COVID-19 virus. Purpose: The purpose of this project was to reduce, through the administration of in-service, feelings of unpreparedness experienced by registered nurses caring for individuals with intellectual and developmental disabilities and at risk for COVID-19 infection. Method: Nurses enrolled in an IDD course offered by a local university, school of nursing were asked to participate in this research project. The object of the project was to assess the reduction of feelings of unpreparedness experienced by nurses likely to be assigned to care for COVID-19 positive individuals with IDD. The convenience sample of registered nurses enrolled in an IDD course, and consenting to participate in the project, received a 15-item pre- and post- in-service Likert scale survey project. Results: Fourteen of 18 possible professional nurses enrolled in an IDD course, consented to, participate in the study. The participants completed the 15-item pre-post in-service Likert scale survey evaluating feelings of unpreparedness when the care of COVID-19 positive individuals with IDD. The post-in-service Likert scores reflected an improvement in pre- and post-survey scores in the four areas evaluated, knowledge, nursing practice, affective, and implementation. For questions evaluating nurse knowledge, a 0.97-point increase occurred between pre- and post-survey scores, for nursing practice, a one-point increase, for questions evaluating nursing affect, a .13-point increase and for scores evaluating implementation strate [...]