Nurses' competence levels in disaster nursing management in Turkey: A comparative cross-sectional study

This study aimed to determine nurses' views of their competence in disaster nursing management.

It is an important responsibility of nurses to have the necessary knowledge and skills for the management of disasters and to be prepared for disasters. For this responsibility to be effectively demonstrated, it is important to determine the disaster management competencies of the nurses.

A descriptive, cross-sectional, and comparative research design was used in this study. The study population consisted of all nurses in Turkey (N = 227 292). According to the power analysis, the goal was to recruit 599 nurses working between March and April 2021 using a simple random sampling method. However, 530 nurses answered the questionnaire. The response rate is 88.5%. Data were collected online using a sociodemographic characteristics questionnaire and the Competencies for Disaster Nursing Management Questionnaire. The data were analyzed using the Statistical Package for Social Sciences at a significance level of 0.05.

There was a positive correlation between nurses' duties and responsibilities in disaster management, barriers to developing basic competencies, and nurses' basic competencies in disaster management (p < 0.001). Nurses have inadequate competencies in disaster management for various reasons. The study was reported with the STROBE checklist.

Although nurses think they have core competencies, they are not prepared for disasters for various reasons.

Hospitals should provide nurses with more duties and responsibilities regarding disaster management. Administrators should involve nurses in plans, decisions, and practices regarding disaster management. Decision-makers should develop policies and training programs to remove the barriers preventing nurses from acquiring competencies.