Nurses' Preparedness for Disaster in South Khorasan Province, Ian

Abstract

Background: Nurses, as the largest group in providing relief during disasters with their specialized skills, should be sufficiently prepared to provide the highest level of health care. By compiling predisaster preparedness programs, the provided healthcare would be promoted and number of casualties and incoordination in allocated tasks be reduced. This study was conducted to evaluate nurses' preparedness in response to disasters in South Khorasan Province, Iran. Materials and Methods:In this correlational descriptive study, working nurses in provincial hospitals were chosen by systematic random sampling. The study data were collected with a 3-part questionnaire: demographic information, items assessing the capabilities in disaster (clinical competency, survival skills, operational competency), and items regarding their viewpoints (personal and psychological readiness, team integration, and administrative support). The questionnaire was rated on a 5-point Likert-type scale. Total score in each field is divided by the number of questions, in which 5 is the highest, and 1 the lowest. All data were analyzed by SPSS16. The significant level was set at P ≤ 0.05. Results:Out of 304 hospital nurses working in 10 health centers throughout the province, 71.1% were female, 27.21% had 3-5 years of job experience, 96.4% had BS in nursing, and 57.9% were the staff of educational hospitals. The mean (SD) score for nurses' preparedness (competency and attitude) was 3.4(0.64). The mean (SD) score for nurses' competency was 3.25 (0.72), and average score for nurses' attitude was 3.53(0.5). There was a significant correlation between nurses' competency score and their gender and work experience (P ≤ 0.05). Conclusion:Regarding the nurses' preparedness score, it is recommended that they be provided with training courses on disaster preparedness through workshops and or training exercises.

Mental health nurses’ disaster nursing competencies: A cross‐sectional study

“…Disaster nursing competencies did not differ according to general characteristics or work‐related characteristics other than in terms of the aforementioned three factors. A previous report on nurses’ clinical experience influencing their clinical competency (Tabiee & Nakhaei 2016) supports our results that disaster nursing competencies were higher among nurses with previous disaster care experience. In addition, considering that nurses with experience in emergency and intensive nursing displayed greater confidence in emergency response than those without such experience (Tzeng et al .…”

Assessing the Disaster Readiness of Nurses in Hospitals

“…The obtained data suggested that the studied nurses' preparedness for disasters was at a moderate level. This finding is consistent with those of Maeda et al [13] in Japan, Tabiee et al [20] in Iran, Yana et al [21] in China, and Xu et al [22] in Taiwan. However, our finding was inconsistent with those of Matlock [23] in Arkansas, USA, and Whetzel et al [24].…”

“…The highest mean score of nurses' disaster readiness was in the aspect of operational competence; therefore, they were appropriately ready to respond to disasters in this area. According to Tabiee et al [20], nurses' disaster readinessin this area was at a moderate level. The low readiness level in this area has also been reported in some other studies [24,25].…”

Educational needs and disaster response readiness: A cross‐sectional study of clinical nurses

“…Furthermore, participants were most prepared regarding clinical management and least prepared with regard to emergency response. According to Tabiee and Nakhaei (2016), clinical experiences influenced nurses’ clinical competency. These results were likely due to clinical experience and skills gained during daily practice and clinical management in the hospital.…”