Integration status of disaster nursing education into undergraduate curricula: A scoping review

Despite increasing attention to disaster preparedness, many newly graduated nurses and nursing students report feeling underprepared, underscoring the importance of integrating disaster nursing education into undergraduate curricula. This review aims to identify and synthesise global literature on undergraduate disaster nursing education, comprehensively mapping its current state of curricular implementation, covering education types, core components, outcomes, and implementation enablers and barriers.

Literature published in English and Japanese from 2014 to 2025 was searched through Medline, CINAHL Complete, Scopus, ProQuest, and Ichushi (a Japanese database), screened, and selected for all types/designs of contemporary disaster nursing educational programs for undergraduate students worldwide. This review was conducted using the Joanna Briggs Institute methodology and PRISMA Extension for Scoping Reviews.

115 articles were selected from the US, Turkey, China, South Korea, Indonesia, Iran, and other countries, including 12 articles written in Japanese. The primary educational approach consisted of simulations, followed by Virtual Reality activities, tabletop exercises, blended teaching, theoretical lectures, and games. Collaboration with communities, national guidelines, and international core competencies emerged as strong enablers. Implementation barriers include limited resources, overloaded curricula, the complexity of planning, and the absence of national legislation.

The integration of disaster nursing education into the undergraduate curriculum is advancing with diversity. Recent improvement in disaster education for undergraduate nursing students reflects a shift toward interprofessional approaches, simulation-based learning, and the inclusion of chemical, biological, radiological, nuclear, and explosive scenarios, alongside innovative initiatives that leverage emerging technologies. While standalone disaster nursing courses have begun to appear in a limited number of countries, integration into existing curricula remains partial and inconsistent. Successful implementation is supported by collaboration with community stakeholders, adherence to national guidelines, and alignment with international core competencies. However, significant barriers persist, including limited resources, overloaded curricula, the complexity of planning, and the absence of national legislation.