The Experiences of Neonatal Intensive Care Nurses in Emergency Response and Psychological Burdens During an...

Nurses working in intensive care units (ICUs) engage in an intense and demanding struggle to ensure the survival of newborns, who are among the most vulnerable populations during disasters. It is known that physical, logistical and technical resources are heavily utilised in the treatment and care processes within ICUs. However, our knowledge of how these resources are managed during and after disasters remains limited.

The aim of this study was to explore the experiences, challenges and decision-making mechanisms of nurses working in neonatal ICUs (NICUs) during an earthquake.

This study employed a qualitative exploratory research design with a phenomenological approach. In-depth individual interviews were conducted using a semi-structured interview guide between January and April 2025. A total of 18 nurses who worked in the NICUs of two different hospitals during and after the 2023 Kahramanmaraş earthquakes in Turkey were included in the study using criterion sampling. Data were analysed using inductive content analysis methods. The Max Qualitative Data Analysis (2020) software was used for data coding.

As a result of the data analysis, three main themes and 13 sub-themes were identified. The themes were as follows: 'Emergency Response and Implementation Challenges', 'Strategies Developed for the Safety of Newborns' and 'Psychological and Emotional Burdens of Nurses'. In addition, the topics 'Insufficiency in Material Supply', 'Problems Arising from Inadequate Staffing' and 'Experience of Loss and Grief' were found to be mentioned more frequently than other codes.

The findings showed that nurses faced challenges stemming from multiple professional, organisational, environmental and educational factors during the early phase of the disaster. Participants' perspectives revealed a strong relationship between professional competence in first response, disaster preparedness, traumatic burden and burnout.

Identifying the challenges experienced by vulnerable populations during disasters, integrating these groups into disaster management plans, developing guidelines, promoting professional knowledge exchange and regularly conducting hands-on disaster training are of great importance.