Experience Related to the Earthquake Among the Nurses of Nursing Homes in Zagreb 2020

The aim of this study was to investigate work stress and possible professional burnout, and to gain deeper insight into the emotional and work experiences and coping strategies of nurses in nursing homes related to the 2020 earthquakes in the City of Zagreb.

In 2020, the City of Zagreb was hit by a strong earthquake, a series of weaker earthquakes, and an earthquake with its epicenter in Petrinja. These stressful events required changes in work organization within the health and social system, putting pressure on workers' adaptive abilities. The COVID-19 pandemic had an additional impact.

The study was conducted in May and June 2022 in 11 nursing homes in the City of Zagreb, through semi-structured, in-depth interviews with 11 participants and inductive thematic analysis as a qualitative research method. The consolidated criteria for reporting qualitative research (COREQ) checklist was included in the reports.

Four major themes were highlighted-Stress/burden, Organizational difficulties, Protective mechanisms, and the Sense of duty/importance of nurses in nursing homes. In addition to the four main themes, 14 sub-themes were defined.

Disasters require organizational preparation of the nursing system, as well as the implementation of burnout syndrome prevention measures and health preservation strategies.