Factors Associated with Nursing Activities in Humanitarian Aid and Disaster Relief

Abstract

BackgroundAlthough nurses play an important role in humanitarian aid and disaster relief (HA/DR), little is known about the nursing activities that are performed in HA/DR. We aimed to clarify the nursing activities performed by Japanese nurses in HA/DR and to examine the factors associated with the frequency of nursing activities.MethodsA self-administered questionnaire survey was completed by 147 nurses with HA/DR experience. The survey extracted information on demographic characteristics, past experience (e.g., disaster medical training experience, HA/DR experience), circumstances surrounding their dispatched to HA/DR (e.g., team size, disaster type, post-disaster phase, mission term), and the frequency of nursing activities performed under HA/DR. The frequency of nursing activities was rated on a 5-point Likert scale. Evaluation of nursing activities was conducted based on the “nursing activity score”, which represents the frequency of each nursing activity. Factors related to the nursing activity score were evaluated by multiple logistic regression analysis.ResultsNurses were involved in 27 nursing activities in HA/DR, 10 of which were performed frequently. On analysis, factors significantly associated with nursing activity score were nursing license as a registered nurse (OR 7.79, 95% CI 2.95–20.57), two or more experiences with disaster medical training (OR 2.90 95%, CI 1.12–7.49) and a post-disaster phase of three weeks or longer (OR 8.77, 95% CI 2.59–29.67).ConclusionsThese results will contribute to the design of evidence-based disaster medical training that improves the quality of nursing activities.

Disaster nursing knowledge in earthquake response and relief among Nepalese nurses working in government and non-government sector

“…However, seventy-eight percent of the respondents in this study did not have experiences in disaster training and had no direct experience in disaster care (63.2%). Similar evidence was also shown in a previous study, that more than half of the nurses in Japan who took part in humanitarian aid and disaster response did not have any disaster medical training experience [31] and this might have affected the level of knowledge. Thus, a low level of knowledge in a response phase was found.…”

“…Many international studies have recommended training and education related to disasters in order to increase the level of disaster awareness among nurses and prepare them to respond disaster events effectively. [17,26,28,31] Nearly half of the respondents in this study did not perceive that they were prepared to respond to a future disaster. Nepal as well as other developing countries has obtained disaster training with the assistance from both national and international organi-zations.…”

“…In addition, comparatively more nurses would be dispatched for patient care as found in the previous study where more than 55% of the Japanese nurses were dispatched in the post-disaster phase so they had less experience in the response phase care. [31] The third reason for the explanation of overall knowledge at a moderate level is related to a nurse's experience in disaster and attending the disaster training. The experience in disaster training and having a direct experience of a disaster may also help to upgrade the knowledge and confidence of the nurses to respond to disasters.…”

The Effect of Educating Confronting Accidents and Disasters on the Improvement of Nurses’ Professional Competence in Response to the Crisis

“…These events affected the lives of nearly 100 million people, killing 22773 people. Of these disasters, 152 events have occurred in the ancient Asia continent [4].…”

“…When disasters occur, nurses are the first responders to critical conditions in the healthcare team [5]. As the largest professional group in the healthcare team, nurses have a crucial role in managing disasters [4]. Correct, timely, and appropriate nursing practices are the main factors in survival, mortality reduction, and well-being of individuals in the aftermath of accidents and disasters [6].…”