Nurses' preparedness for disasters: Perceptions and levels of psychological resilience

This study investigates the relationship between nurses' disaster preparedness, the factors influencing it, and nurses' psychological resilience.

The International Council of Nursing considers disaster preparedness and response to be essential qualifications for nurses. Nurses' resilience levels have a significant impact on their professional behavior under challenging circumstances, such as disasters, resulting in improved patient care and satisfaction.

This cross-sectional study involved 400 nurses employed at secondary and tertiary healthcare institutions in a city in Turkey. Data were collected through face-to-face interviews using a descriptive questionnaire, the nurses' perception of disaster preparedness scale (NP-DPS), and the Connor-Davidson resilience scale (CD-RISC).

Participants' average age was 32.29 ± 7.12 years, and 75.3% were female. The average total score on the NP-DPS was 78.64 ± 9.47, with notably lower scores observed in the intervention subscale. Nurses with higher education levels, prior disaster training and experience, a sense of preparedness for disasters, and a passion for their profession had significantly higher average scores (p < 0.05). The results indicate that the nurses' psychological resilience was at a moderate level, and disaster preparedness was identified as the most significant predictor (R² = 0.214, p ≤ 0.001).

Nurses' disaster preparedness is influenced by their education level, disaster training, previous volunteer experience in disasters, passion for the profession, and psychological resilience. Healthcare administrators can enhance nurses' disaster preparedness by providing targeted support and resources.

The results highlight the need for national policies that integrate nurses' professional competencies and resilience for effective disaster responses and emphasize the importance of disaster preparedness training programs for nurses. Managers play a crucial role in implementing these national and international policies.