Resilience of Emergency Nurses During Disasters: A Qualitative Study

Nurses working in emergency departments during disaster situations (eg, mass casualty incidents) must cope with intense and often traumatic experiences while providing rapid, lifesaving care. This challenging environment requires significant physical, psychological, and emotional resilience and exposes nurses to a variety of influences while fulfilling their professional roles. This study aimed to gain an in-depth understanding of resilience among emergency nurses in disaster contexts and the factors shaping their resilience, with the aim of informing strategies to support their coping mechanisms.

This is a qualitative research study that aims to explore the disaster experiences of the participants. The data were collected between October and November 2025 at a hospital in Kocaeli province, Türkiye, using a semistructured interview form. In-depth interviews were conducted face-to-face with 20 nurses, and each interview lasted 45 minutes. The data obtained were evaluated using thematic analysis.

Three main themes were identified as a result of the analysis: factors that increase resilience, factors that decrease resilience, and long-term effects of disaster experience. Factors enhancing resilience included professional competence, previous disaster experience, effective teamwork, and psychosocial support. In contrast, exposure to intense emotional burden, inadequate resources, high workload, and fear for personal and family safety were found to undermine resilience. The long-term effects of disaster experience encompassed both negative outcomes, such as emotional exhaustion and psychological distress, and positive outcomes, including strengthened professional identity, increased preparedness, and enhanced coping capacity.

The findings indicate that nurses' resilience during disaster situations is shaped by a complex interaction of individual, professional, and organizational factors. Although professional experience, teamwork, and psychosocial support strengthen resilience, emotional burden, resource limitations, and prolonged exposure to disaster-related stressors may weaken it. Disaster experiences also have lasting effects on nurses, influencing both their psychological well-being and professional development. This study strongly emphasizes the need to develop institution-based policies and interventions that will support the sustainable resilience of emergency nurses during and after disasters.