Objective: This study evaluates the self-perceived nursing readiness of Japanese nurses dispatched to disaster areas following the Great East Japan Earthquake. Identifying readiness deficits is the first step in providing targeted training and education to enhance disaster nursing readiness. Methods: This study employed a quantitative, non-experimental, descriptive research design. A purposive sample of participants (N = 427) was drawn from 171 of 609 randomly selected hospitals from all hospitals nationwide, including base disaster hospitals. Data were collected using the Readiness Estimate and Deploy ability Index Japanese Version (READI-J-V), which evaluates self-reported competencies in seven dimensions with 67 items measuring nursing readiness for disaster. These competencies are necessary for coping with unexpected disaster work environments. The data were analyzed using descriptive statistics and one-way analysis of variance (ANOVA). Results: Overall, the nurses reported moderate readiness levels; low levels were reported on several items. Nurses with previous dispatch experience, longer nursing experience, and a nursing specialty had higher total scores. The ANOVA also revealed significant differences in all seven dimensions of the READI-J-V. Conclusion: The findings support the need for a structured estimate tool that measures disaster nursing competencies and emphasizes training and education to ensure disaster nursing readiness

Japan is a disaster-prone country, and Japanese registered nurses (RN) should be evaluated for their individual readiness for unexpected dispatches. The aim of the present study was to develop and validate a scale for measuring individual readiness of Japanese RN for disasters. In our previous study in 2014, we developed a Japanese version of the Readiness Estimate and Deployability Index, which was originally developed in the USA in 1997. Considering the cultural and characteristic aspects of Japanese RN social skills, a preliminary version of the instrument was constructed in a pilot study. In the main survey, construct validity, internal consistency, and concurrent validity of the self-evaluation instrument were assessed in a sample of 964 RN, and its psychometric properties were evaluated. A six dimensional, 37 item tool called the Japanese Disaster Nursing Readiness Evaluation Index (JDNREI) was developed. The Cronbach's alpha for the scale was .93.The reliability of the six dimensions was acceptable, and the validity was supported by confirmatory factor analysis. The JDNREI, whose validity and reliability were evaluated, might enable RN to recognize and assess their level of individual readiness for future disasters. K E Y W O R D S disaster nursing, Japanese Disaster Nursing Readiness Evaluation Index, individual readiness, Japan, self-evaluation instrument, social skills

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