Abstract
The frequency of earthquakes in South Korea is increasing. This study aimed to examine and identify the factors influencing the degree of disaster-incident-related impacts among Korean nursing students who have actual disaster experience. The study sample consisted of 153 nursing students living around the Phohang-si area in Gyeongsang-do, South Korea, and who have actual disaster-incident-related experience. Measures used in this study were the Impact of Event Scale, Perceived Health Status Scale, Psychological Well-Being Scale, and Coping Strategy Indicator (Korean version). The data collection period was from October to December 2018. Factors that influence disaster-incident-related impacts among Korean nursing students in descending order are as follows: perceived health status (β = 0.48), gender (β = −0.28), coping skill (β = 0.18), psychological well-being (β = 0.14), need for disaster education (β = 0.12), and major satisfaction (β = −0.12). This study provides preliminary evidence that perceived health status is a major and primary predictor of disaster-incident-related impacts among Korean nursing students, followed by coping skill and psychological well-being. The findings can be reflected in a pertinent curriculum by actively considering these factors in designing nursing education interventions for managing disaster-incident-related impacts among Korean nursing students.
Highlights
South Korea is situated on the eastern edge of the Eurasian Plate, which is widely recognized as an earthquake safety zone [1]
The aims of the study were as follows: (1) to identify the general characteristics of nursing students who have experienced disaster-incident-related cases; (2) to examine the degree of disaster-incident-related impact and factors related to it; (3) to examine the degrees of disaster-incident-related impact according to the general characteristics of the study participants; (4) to examine the correlations between the degree of disaster-incident-related impact and the factors related to it; and (5) to determine the factors that influence the degree of disaster-incident-related impact
The analyses proved that the prediction model for the levels of disaster-incident-related impacts of Korean nursing students was significant (F = 24.46, p < 0.001)
Summary
South Korea is situated on the eastern edge of the Eurasian Plate, which is widely recognized as an earthquake safety zone [1]. South Korea is constantly experiencing new types of natural disasters and accidents, and many regions in the country suffer damage from such disasters [1]. Earthquakes are natural phenomena that can cause severe damage to a country in terms of people’s lives and property, including related damages due to fires, collapses, explosions, traffic accidents, and environmental pollution [1]. The occurrence of an earthquake may pose enormous obstacles to people’s perceived health status, psychological well-being, individual coping skills, and quality of life [5,6,7]. It may result in many casualties and property damage, Int. J. Public Health 2019, 16, 5111; doi:10.3390/ijerph16245111 www.mdpi.com/journal/ijerph
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