Abstract
In this descriptive study, we aimed to identify factors related to emergency room nurses’ disaster triage ability. A total of 166 nurses who worked for emergency departments of general hospitals completed a structured questionnaire consisting of the Disaster Triage Ability Scale (DTAS), the Strategic Thinking Scale (STS), the Problem-Solving Inventory (PSI), and the Original Grit Scale (Grit-O). The data were analyzed using SPSS/WIN 25.0 by means of descriptive statistics, t-test, one-way ANOVA, the Scheffé post hoc test, Pearson’s correlation coefficients, and stepwise multiple regression. Participants’ DTAS averaged 14.03 ± 4.28 (Range 0–20) and showed a statistically significant difference according to their experience of triage education (t = 2.26, p = 0.022) as a disaster triage-related attribute. There were significant correlations among DTAS and confidence in the PSI (r = 0.30, p < 0.001), the approach-avoidance style in the PSI (r = −0.28, p < 0.001), and futurism in the STS (r = 0.19, p = 0.019). The strongest predictor was confidence in the PSI; in addition, 14.1% of the DTAS was explained by confidence in the PSI, approach-avoidance in the PSI, and futurism in the STS. Emergency room nurses who received triage education showed a higher level of the DTAS and their DTAS could be explained by problem-solving skills and strategic thinking. Therefore, it is necessary to develop and implement triage education programs integrated with stress management to improve the approach-avoidance style to ensure better problem-solving skills and to utilize various training methods to enhance confidence to improve problem-solving skills and futurism as part of strategic thinking.
Highlights
This descriptive survey study sought to provide a new basis for the educational intervention for improved Disaster triage ability (DTA) in Emergency room triage nurses (ERTNs) by identifying the degrees of strategic thinking, problem-solving skills, grit, and disaster triage ability in ERTNs
The approach-avoidance style in Problem-Solving Inventory (PSI) is affected by stress coping skills, and confidence in PSI and futurism in Strategic Thinking Scale (STS) are affected by education and practice; this study has provided data that can be used to develop further strategic thinking education programs
This study was conducted in order to provide data on the requirements for the development of DTA in ERTNs who play a major role in severity classification in emergency situations
Summary
In the case of a disaster with multiple casualties, severity classification is essential for efficient use of limited manpower and resources [1]. Rapid information collection and accurate decision-making—that is, clinical reasoning ability—are essential for severity classification. Understanding and implementing severity classification in disasters with mass-casualty incidents is vital in order to disperse any limited resources among victims with the highest possibility of survival. Recent previous mass-casualty incident studies have found that improper first aid and victim transfer distribution results in re-transfer due to inadequate severity classifications at the mass-casualty incident site [2,3]. It is essential to perform proper severity classification in mass-casualty incident situations because it directly affects the decline of resources and the health of casualties
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