[Disaster and disaster nursing: from an education and research perspective]

Due to its geographic position and the effect of changes in both global and island-specific environments, Taiwan is an area highly prone to natural disasters. While responsibility for national disaster prevention and rescue are distributed amongst various authorities, healthcare agencies hold sole responsibility for the treatment of injuries sustained during disaster events. Disaster casualties require differing levels of medical assistance. In order to respond systematically to disaster events, the government should require that all healthcare facilities operate a hospital emergency incident command system (HEICS). Past experience shows the important role that nurses play in the disaster relief process. The 911 disaster in the United States both helped reorient the direction of nursing education and emphasized teaching practical strategies, standard operating procedures, and frequently asked questions for nurses. Recognizing the limited research done worldwide on disaster nursing, the World Society of Disaster Nursing (WSDN) was established in 2008 in Kobe, Japan. The main purposes of the WSDN is to promote international academic exchange, establish an Internet information exchange platform, and organize international disaster nursing related activities. The WSDN has suggested that future research may focus in on critical issues that include post-disaster health status follow-up, exploration of the healthcare needs and other issues of disaster survivors, care skills development, and the potential for development of cooperative support networks between medical institutions.