Mental health nurses' disaster nursing competencies: A cross-sectional study

Area of Science:

• Nursing
• Disaster Management
• Mental Health

Background:

• The COVID-19 pandemic highlighted the critical need for mental health nurses skilled in disaster response.
• Psychiatric nurses require specific competencies to effectively manage disaster situations.
• Professional quality of life significantly impacts nurses' ability to respond to disasters.

Purpose of the Study:

• To investigate the relationship between mental health nurses' professional quality of life and their disaster nursing competencies.
• To identify key factors of professional quality of life that predict disaster nursing preparedness and response.
• To inform the development of targeted training and support for mental health nurses in disaster management.

Main Methods:

• Cross-sectional observational study adhering to STROBE checklist.
• Data collected from 196 mental health nurses in South Korea.
• Utilized the Korean version of the Professional Quality of Life Scale and the Disaster Nursing Preparedness-Response Competencies Scale.
• Multiple regression analysis employed to determine predictors of disaster nursing competencies.

Main Results:

• Compassion satisfaction was the strongest predictor of disaster nursing competencies (β = 0.36, P < 0.001).
• Participation in disaster nursing activities (β = 0.15, P = 0.023) and disaster nursing education (β = 0.15, P = 0.026) also significantly predicted competencies.
• These factors collectively explained 30.1% of the variance in disaster nursing competencies.

Conclusions:

• Enhancing compassion satisfaction is crucial for improving mental health nurses' disaster response capabilities.
• Disaster nursing education and training, including simulation, are vital for preparedness.
• Supportive work environments and leadership are essential for fostering compassion satisfaction and effective disaster nursing.