Disaster risk perception and disaster preparedness beliefs of nursing students, and related factors: A cross...

Disasters pose serious challenges to health systems, and nurses play critical roles in disaster preparedness and response. Determining nursing students' disaster risk perception and preparedness beliefs is essential for evaluating the readiness of future healthcare professionals. Nurses who accurately perceive disaster risk and believe in the necessity of preparedness are better able to deliver effective intervention and care before, during, and after disasters.

This study aimed to examine socio-demographic and disaster-related factors associated with disaster risk perception and disaster preparedness beliefs among nursing students.

This descriptive cross-sectional study was conducted among 862 undergraduate nursing students enrolled at a university in Türkiye during the 2022-2023 academic year. Data were collected using the Personal Information Form, the University Students Disaster Risk Perception Scale, and the General Disaster Preparedness Belief Scale through face-to-face administration in classroom settings. Descriptive statistics, Spearman correlation analysis, and generalized linear models with a gamma distribution and log link function were used to analyze the data.

Nursing students demonstrated a moderate level of disaster risk perception and generally positive disaster preparedness beliefs. Disaster risk perception was significantly associated with gender, year at school, financial status, loss of a loved one in previous disasters, and disaster training. Disaster preparedness beliefs were significantly associated with gender, year at school, having received disaster training, owning a bug-out bag, and awareness of local disaster risks. A weak but statistically significant positive correlation was found between disaster risk perception and disaster preparedness beliefs (r = 0.131, p < 0.001).

Disaster risk perception and preparedness beliefs are related yet distinct constructs among nursing students and are influenced by different factors. These findings suggest that strengthening disaster preparedness in nursing education requires comprehensive strategies that extend beyond raising risk awareness alone to include structured disaster training, skill development, and readiness.