Disaster Preparedness Response Research Articles

Are you ready: disaster response in nursing education: a cross-sectional survey among Swedish universities and university colleges

IntroductionRegistered nurses play a critical role in disaster response and patient care during crises. Recent global events underscore the importance of preparedness for disaster response. However, the readiness of registered nurses and their educational preparation vary. In Sweden, this prompted the National Board of Health and Welfare to introduce a new national curriculum for disaster response. This study aimed to assess how education for undergraduate and specialist registered nurses aligns with this curriculum.MethodsA descriptive cross-sectional study was conducted among universities and university colleges in Sweden offering undergraduate and specialist nursing programs. Surveys were sent to all 25 higher education institutions providing nursing education in November 2023, comprising 29 questions related to the new curriculum.ResultsFindings revealed that half of the respondents had discussed the new curriculum, with 15 reporting some form of learning activities. Traditional lectures were the most commonly used format, and 11 respondents had designated teachers for the subject. Reasons for lacking disaster response education included prioritizing other acute care areas or a limited perspective at the academy.DiscussionIn conclusion, this study suggests that nursing education may not sufficiently prepare registered nurses for disaster response and armed conflicts. Education tends to focus more on acute care rather than taking a broader perspective. As a result, registered nurses may lack the competence and readiness required to effectively respond to disasters.

The Effectiveness and Benefits of Disaster Simulation Training for Undergraduate Medical Students in Saudi Arabia.

There is a growing recognition of the need for disaster management training for medical students in Saudi Arabia, but there is limited research on its effectiveness. Thus, this study evaluated the effectiveness of a disaster simulation training program for undergraduate medical students in Saudi Arabia. A disaster management simulation activity was conducted for 32 medical students. The students attended a 30-minute lecture about mass casualty incidents (MCIs) and completed a pre-simulation survey. They were then randomly assigned to one of three groups (performer, actor, observer) and asked to apply their skills to triage patients after a Level C MCI. A debriefing session was conducted using the plus/delta debriefing method. Then, the students completed a post-simulation survey. The results showed that after the simulation training the students' self-confidence in their ability to respond to a disaster increased from 40.7% to 59.4% (p value < 0.01), to utilize incident command structure increased from 37.9% to 62.5% (p value < 0.01), to demonstrate START triage for victims of a disaster increased from 28.2% to 65.7% (p value < 0.01), and to apply safe search and rescue techniques increased from 40.7% to 59.4% (p value < 0.01). The students' self-confidence in their ability to perform basic first aid skills also increased after the simulation. The study findings suggest that disaster management simulation training can be an effective way to increase medical students' self-confidence and preparedness for disaster response.

Mass fatality and disaster response preparedness across medical examiner and coroner offices in the United States

With the rise of mass fatalities and disasters, access to mass fatality and disaster planning trainings and resources available to medical examiners and coroners (MECs) in the United States should be reviewed. This paper provides a necessary update on the extent of access to these resources by analyzing data from the 2018 Census for Medical Examiner and Coroner Offices (CMEC). Results show that a high percentage of respondents have access to mass fatality and disaster planning trainings/resources; however, the access is disproportionate. Respondents in the Midwest and South—and those with smaller populations—have less access to resources, while agencies with larger budgets and more full-time staff have more access to resources. This paper discusses potential contributing factors for these disparities, but the data only begin to elucidate gaps in access to mass fatality and disaster planning trainings/resources for MECs and where further research should be conducted.

How Do Disaster Relief Nurses in Japan Perceive and Respond to Risks? A Cross-Sectional Study.

This study assessed the risk perceptions among disaster relief nurses (DRNs) in Japan by focusing on 15 risk factors associated with frequent natural disasters and the ongoing coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic. We conducted a cross-sectional study that targeted DRNs across six prefectures in Japan and explored nurses' perceptions of risks including radiation exposure, volcanic eruptions, and mass infections. The findings indicated a heightened perception of radiation and nuclear-related risks. In the context of the COVID-19 pandemic, DRNs perceived "mass infection" as a significant risk. An age-based analysis revealed that younger nurses had more dread about "mass infection" and had heightened uncertainty about the "X-ray test" compared with their older peers. Understanding DRNs' risk perceptions is crucial for effective disaster response preparedness and training. The study highlights the need to address these perceptions to ensure that DRNs are well prepared and supported in their roles. This study was not pre-registered on a publicly accessible registry.

Nurses' preparedness for disaster response in rural and urban primary healthcare settings in Tanzania.

Nurses are often on the frontline of disaster management, providing care to patients with emerging physical, mental, and emotional turbulence, and acting as educators for health promotion and disaster prevention in both rural and urban contexts. However, the literature suggests that nurses are inadequately prepared for disaster response. This study examined preparedness for disaster response among nurses in rural and urban primary healthcare settings in Tanzania. This qualitative descriptive study involved purposefully selected qualified nurses and nurse administrators working in rural (n=20) and urban (n=11) primary healthcare facilities in Tanzania. Telephone-based interviews were conducted to gather data that were then analyzed thematically. Five themes emerged from the analysis: previous experiences, technical capacity, current strategies, challenges, and overall preparedness. Previous experiences included personally caring for victims, working in disaster response teams, working in administrative roles during disasters, and conducting community sensitization. Most nurses in rural contexts had not received training on disaster response and relied on past experience, knowledge from nursing school, observing peers, and knowledge from the internet and movies. Current strategies for disaster response included response teams (although these were considered 'weak'), ensuring the availability of equipment and supplies, and infrastructure for victim management. Challenges in disaster response included inadequate resources, understaffing, lack of expertise at primary healthcare facilities, nurses tasked with multiple responsibilities, inadequate technical capacity, fears of infection, poor interpersonal relationships, inadequate community knowledge, poor reporting systems, delayed healthcare seeking, long distances to facilities, and poor road infrastructure. These challenges were more pronounced in rural settings. Most nurses felt they were well prepared to respond to disasters, although this appeared to be rooted in a willingness to provide care rather than having adequate knowledge, skills, and resources for disaster response. Suggestions for better preparing nurses for disaster response included training, increasing essential equipment and medical supplies, increasing the nursing workforce, improving reporting systems, disseminating local guidelines, strengthening disaster response teams, and improving the nursing training curricula to cover disaster management. A range of institutional, individual, and community challenges affect nurses' preparedness for disaster response in rural and urban primary healthcare settings. Addressing these challenges requires multiple strategies that extend beyond the capacity building of nurses to strengthen health system disaster preparedness in general, prioritizing rural contexts.

A Psychometric Validation of the Korean Version of Disaster Response Self-Efficacy Scale for Nursing Students.

Nurses are very important healthcare providers in disaster situations, and from undergraduate nursing students to professional registered nurses, such practitioners should focus on strengthening their disaster-response-related self-efficacy and competency. The purpose of this study was to develop a Korean version of the Disaster Response Self-Efficacy Scale (DRSES-K) and evaluate its psychometric properties. The DRSES was translated into Korean and developed based on the translation and adaptation of instruments suggested by the World Health Organization. Data were collected from 30 October to 23 November 2020. A total of 209 undergraduate nursing students participated in this study. Psychometric properties were assessed using the programs SPSS/WIN 29.0, AMOS 26.0, and Winsteps 3.68.2, with which Rasch model analysis was carried out. The DRSES-K fit was sufficiently suitable for the unidimensional Rasch model with acceptable goodness of fit (χ2/df = 2.20 (p < 0.001), CFI = 0.92, IFI = 0.92, TLI = 0.91, AGFI = 0.82, and RMSEA = 0.07). The DRSES-K was significantly correlated with the measure of preparedness for disaster response, so concurrent validity was satisfied. The findings in this study suggested that the DRSES-K is a scale with verified validity and reliability. It is expected that the DRSES-K will be used for disaster nursing education to strengthen the competency of undergraduate nursing students.

Testing the validity and reliability of the Arabic version of the Disaster Response Self-Efficacy Scale among Saudi nursing students

AimThe study tested the validity and reliability of the “Disaster Response Self-Efficacy Scale” Arabic version (DRSES-A) among Saudi nursing students. BackgroundDisaster self-efficacy is one such factor of increasing interest. Little research has explored disaster response self-efficacy despite growing evidence on disaster response preparedness in Saudi Arabia. A systematic, standardized and valid instrument is needed to assess disaster self-efficacy in the Saudi context. The DRSES is one of the tools with excellent psychometric properties that can evaluate the nursing students’ perceived self-efficacy in disaster preparation, mitigation and response. DesignThis investigation is a quantitative methodological design testing the validity and reliability of the DRSES-A. MethodIn this study, 290 Saudi nursing students were surveyed from May to June 2021 in the three government universities in Saudi Arabia using the convenience sampling technique. The Disaster Response Self-Efficacy Scale underwent a linguistic adaptation following a forward-backward translation method. Construct validity was established using the principal component analysis to extract the components of DRSES-A. ResultThe overall mean of the DRSES-A was 3.41 (SD = 0.75). The overall Cronbach alpha was 0.939. The subscales "Onsite rescue" and "Psychological nursing" had a similar alpha of 0.911, while "Role quality and adaptation" had a computed alpha of 0.878. The expert rated all item content validity index as 1 with an average score content validity index of 1. The principal component analysis supported a three-factor DRSES-A. ConclusionThe DRSES-A is a valid and reliable scale that can measure Arabic-speaking baccalaureate nursing students' self-reported disaster response self-efficacy.

Nurses' knowledge levels and preparedness for disasters: A systematic review

ObjectiveNurses, who play a key role in disasters, should be sufficiently prepared and have good knowledge in responding to disasters to reduce the negative consequences on the population affected by disasters as disasters increase globally. The study aimed to investigate the results of peer-reviewed publications that measure nurses' level of knowledge and preparedness for disasters. MethodThe systematic review model was used in this study. Scientific studies on disaster preparedness of nurses in Turkish and English between 2015-and 2019 were systematically examined. Sciencedirect, Ulakbim and Medline/PubMed databases were used for the literature search. In the study, the keywords ‘disaster’, ‘disaster preparedness', ‘disaster competencies', ‘disaster nursing’, ‘disaster information’ and ‘nurse’ was searched. Seventeen (17) research articles conducted with nurses suitable for the study were included and analyzed. ResultsStudies commonly report that nurses are not sufficiently prepared for disasters and are not confident in responding to disasters effectively. It was seen that the factors that increase the preparedness for disaster response are previous disaster response experience and disaster-related education level. ConclusionThe results of this systematic review show that it is necessary to develop better education and training programs to strengthen the knowledge and skills of nurses, especially in disaster preparedness.

Supporting each other: Pacific emergency care clinicians navigate COVID-19 pandemic challenges through collaboration

Supporting each other: Pacific emergency care clinicians navigate COVID-19 pandemic challenges through collaboration

Improving rural disaster response preparedness.

Disasters happen in all communities and negatively impact the health and safety of populations if not well managed. Rural health organizations face greater challenges when implementing emergency preparedness policies and need unique resources to help ensure the health of their communities. The purpose of this article is to describe the development and evaluation of an agricultural simulation scenario designed for rural health organizations. The agricultural disaster scenario was developed after determining the desired content domains. Forty students from nursing, medicine, public health, and social work participated in a functional simulation using the scenario. Outcomes were measured using a pre-post measurement with one cohort design. Data were analyzed using paired-samples t-tests. Students reported a 30% increase in self-confidence, 38% increase in disaster competence, and 19% increase in interprofessional collaboration competence after the simulation. Statistically significant increases in student scores were noted on all surveys across professions. The agricultural disaster simulation is a valid scenario to use for disaster preparation using emergency operations plans.

Evaluation of Seasonal Forecasts for the Fire Season in Interior Alaska

AbstractIn this study, seasonal forecasts from the National Centers for Environmental Prediction (NCEP) Climate Forecast System, version 2 (CFSv2), are compared with station observations to assess their usefulness in producing accurate buildup index (BUI) forecasts for the fire season in Interior Alaska. These comparisons indicate that the CFSv2 June–July–August (JJA) climatology (1994–2017) produces negatively biased BUI forecasts because of negative temperature and positive precipitation biases. With quantile mapping (QM) correction, the temperature and precipitation forecasts better match the observations. The long-term JJA mean BUI improves from 12 to 42 when computed using the QM-corrected forecasts. Further postprocessing of the QM-corrected BUI forecasts using the quartile classification method shows anomalously high values for the 2004 fire season, which was the worst on record in terms of the area burned by wildfires. These results suggest that the QM-corrected CFSv2 forecasts can be used to predict extreme fire events. An assessment of the classified BUI ensemble members at the subseasonal scale shows that persistently occurring BUI forecasts exceeding 150 in the cumulative drought season can be used as an indicator that extreme fire events will occur during the upcoming season. This study demonstrates the ability of QM-corrected CFSv2 forecasts to predict the potential fire season in advance. This information could, therefore, assist fire managers in resource allocation and disaster response preparedness.

STUDY ON THE LEVEL OF DISASTER PREPAREDNESS AMONG VETERINARY PRACTITIONERS

PURPOSE: This study was focused on veterinary practitioners in Bulgaria with the aim to investigate and present their level of preparedness for disaster response and continuance of professional activities after disaster events. METHODS: A sociological survey through a questionnaire with open and closed questions was sent to veterinarians throughout the country personally or via e-mail. RESULTS: Veterinary practitioners in Bulgaria are not legally engaged in disaster prevention, excluding the prevention of contagious animal diseases. At the same, time veterinarians could assist the population not only in case of biological contamination but also in any crisis situation caused by natural, technical, and human factors. The study showed that one-third (34.38%, n=11) of the respondents had supplied their practices with emergency equipment, while 75% (n=24) of them had secured the continuity of communications. Another 21.88 % (n=7) of respondents had arranged in advance a meeting place for staff after evacuation to meet and plan the reorganization of their activities. Only 3.13% (n=1) of the respondents had conducted simulated evacuations in arranged training. CONCLUSIONS: The findings could be used for drafting guidelines and teaching materials for professional training, enhancing the veterinary practitioners to perform more effectively in emergencies and thus raise the disaster resilience of the community as a whole.

Analysis on the Status of Disaster Response Preparedness for the People with Special Needs in Totsuka District, Yokohama City

Analysis on the Status of Disaster Response Preparedness for the People with Special Needs in Totsuka District, Yokohama City

WBF-2019 Core Research Cluster of Disaster Science Planning Session as Disaster Preparedness: Participation in a Training Program for Conductor-Type Disaster Healthcare Personnel

Introduction: Health professionals and support staff need to be prepared for disasters and know how to respond. This study aimed to examine a one-day “Conductor-type disaster healthcare management personnel” training course and its effect among healthcare professionals. Tohoku University and Fukushima Medical University are experienced in disaster response preparedness and they conducted the one-day course comprising multiple sessions at the World Bosai Forum-2019 (WBF-2019). Method: The course introduced the recent activities of four groups: the Practical Disaster Risk Reduction Research Group; the Natural Science Research Group; the Disaster Humanities Research Group; and the Disaster Medicine Research Group. Unifying four scientific areas based on the theory of the disaster cycle, the research field “disaster science” has been created through interdisciplinary cooperation. The participants completed reports, which were then analyzed using the KJ method. Discussion: The program participants wanted to gain practical knowledge about disasters and have a multifaceted perspective on disaster response. Participants who attended other sessions had an interest in comparing their training with the training provided by other sessions on disaster preparedness. Comparisons included determining the effectiveness of high-level disaster medical preparations from a multilateral viewpoint and involving an interdisciplinary research team in disaster medical preparations to prepare for future disaster events. Conclusion: The participants identified that interdisciplinary activities lead to an improvement in knowledge, skills, or attitudes toward disaster preparedness. There needs to be a greater focus on disaster medicine care teams, including research on both past and future disasters.

Factors Affecting Effective Flood Disaster Response Operations in the Infantry Corp

The objective of this study is to examine factors affecting effective flood disaster response operations in the Infantry Corp. The factors examined were command and control, coordination, equipment and logistic, human resources and communication. Data were collected through interviews and focus group discussions with infantry officers from both the operational and tactical levels. The study found that the Infantry Corp is indeed somewhat ready in terms of its preparedness for disaster response. The command and control center was systematically managed. Communication was good. Human resources mobilized for the disaster response missions were sufficient and they were committed towards their responsibilities in saving the lives of the community. It is seen that despite the fact that the Infantry Corp is somewhat ready for effective disaster response, poor inter-agency coordination, inter-agency communication and inter-agency understanding of individual roles and responsibilities mean that it may not be fully effective in its disaster response management, particularly when the flood disaster is of bigger scale compared to previous incidents. The state government and Infantry Corp should be able to understand the issues underlying effective disaster response. Therefore, a systematic operating procedure should be developed and shared with all relevant agencies.

Disaster education and preparedness in the acute care setting: A cross sectional survey of operating theatre nurse's disaster knowledge and education

BackgroundOperating theatre services can be heavily relied upon during mass casualty disaster events, which require nurses to have adequate training and education of hospital disaster management plans to respond appropriately. The evidence-base of disaster preparedness in the acute setting is limited, particularly with regard to operating theatre nurses. ObjectivesExplore operating theatre nurse's disaster knowledge of their role in a mass casualty event, and identify the preferred mode of disaster education and training to improve disaster preparedness. DesignA cross-sectional research design was employed with data collected using a survey tool. SettingsThe research was undertaken on operating theatre nurses in a tertiary hospital in Victoria, Australia. ParticipantsThe participants in this research included 53 operating theatre nurses, 51 Registered Nurses and 2 Enrolled Nurses. MethodsThe survey was based on a disaster questionnaire for emergency department nurses from South Australia, exploring knowledge and preparedness for disaster response in the acute setting, and altered to be specific and relevant to the operating theatre environment and broadened to focus on the training needs of perioperative nurses. ResultsThe survey of 53 operating theatre nurses identified that few had previous disaster experience (19.9%). The majority of respondents were aware of their disaster management policy (Code Brown policy) (94.1%), of reporting lines, and appropriate triage (80.4%). However, a significant number of nurses (50.9%) stated that in the event of a disaster they would “call work to see if [they needed] additional assistance” compared with 43.4% of respondents “wait to be contacted by a manager/floor coordinator” as was policy. Finally, disaster nursing general knowledge amongst staff was poor; a mean of 1.79 (SD = 1.20) correct answers out of a possible 7. ConclusionsThis study highlights that disaster education and training methods for disasters be specific to the role required by nurses and all staff during a disaster activation; training drills are preferred although face-to-face education is practical.

Analysis of flood disaster response preparedness in Gampong Seulalah Langsa Lama Sub-District Langsa City

Langsa City is one of the City in Aceh Province that suffer from flood disaster almost every year. This research aims to analyze the extent of preparedness of community disaster response of Gampong Seulalah Langsa Lama in Langsa City in the event of the flood disaster. The type of this research is experimental research with phenomenology method. Data processing is done by performing data organizing, reading, and coding. The researchers also made an edge note of the data obtained. Furthermore, researchers conducted development of textural description and structural description. Finally, the researchers described the data obtained. The results of this study indicate that the level of preparedness of community disaster response of Gampong Seulalah Langsa Lama Sub-district in Langsa City is still low. This is due to the level of public awareness on the importance of disaster risk reduction through the response to the disaster is still very minimal. Advice from researchers, the need for a rigorous training effort to increase public awareness on the importance of community disaster response attitude to minimize the risk of the flood disaster. Good disaster preparedness will generate a good response and may minimize disaster risks.

EKSTRAKURIKULER PRAMUKA TERINTEGRASI SIAGA BENCANA GEMPA BUMI TERHADAP KETERAMPILAN TANGGAP BENCANA SISWA SD

This study aims to determine the effect of extracurricular scouting integrated standby earthquake disaster response skill alert for elementary school students in the city of Bengkulu. This research is a quantitative research. The research design used is The Matching Only Pretest-posttest Control Group Design, the population in this study all the scout participants in SD Negeri Kota Bengkulu. The selected research sample is SD Negeri 02 Kota Bengkulu as Experiment and SD Negeri 19 Kota Bengkulu as the control. The research instruments used are observation sheets given through pretest (before activity) and posttest (after activity). Data of this research are analyzed by using descriptive and inferential analysis that is t-test. From the research results it is known that the average value of experimental group posttest is 80 control group equal to 57.2. The result of t-test with tcount is 9,785 and ttabel 2,306. So thitung&gt;ttable, so it can be concluded that there is an extracurricular influence of integrated scouting education on earthquake disaster preparedness to disaster response preparedness skills of elementary school students in BengkuluCity.

Disaster preparedness among nurses: a systematic review of literature.

This review explored peer-reviewed publications that measure nurses' preparedness for disaster response. The increasing frequency of disasters worldwide necessitates nurses to adequately prepare to respond to disasters to mitigate the negative consequences of the event on the affected population. Despite growing initiatives to prepare nurses for any disasters, evidence suggests they are under prepared for disaster response. This is a systematic review of scientific articles conducted from 2006 to 2016 on nurses' preparedness for disasters. SCOPUS, MEDLINE, PubMed, CINAHL and PsychINFO were the primary databases utilized for search of literature. Keywords used in this review were as follows: 'emergency', 'disaster', 'disaster preparedness', 'disaster competencies', 'disaster nursing', 'disaster role' and 'nurse'. Seventeen (17) articles were selected for this review. Factors that increase preparedness for disaster response include previous disaster response experience and disaster-related training. However, it is widely reported that nurses are insufficiently prepared and do not feel confident responding effectively to disasters. The findings of this review contribute to a growing body of knowledge regarding disaster preparedness in nurses and have implications for academia, hospital administration and nursing educators. The findings of this review provide evidence that could be used by nurse educators and nurse administrators to better prepare nurses for disaster response. The findings from this review place an emphasis on hospitals to implement policies to address lack of preparedness among their employees. Furthermore, this review highlights the benefit of further research and provision of well-grounded disaster exercises that mimic actual events to enhance the preparedness of the nursing workforce.

Evaluation of Pre-disaster Planning of Bengawan Solo River Flood Bojonegoro Regency Year 2014

Early year of 2014 flood was ranked first in the natural disasters with 69 incidences. Bengawan Solo floods is an annual natural disastersin Bojonegoro. Study’s results in 2011 showed that RHA activities was not maximum that pre-disaster activities should be evaluated. Based on management functions, planning is the very first step. Evaluation of pre-disaster planning is the earliest thing to do to minimize the disasters impact. This study aimed to evaluate activities of floods pre-disaster planning in Bojonegoro year 2014. Data were collected by interview anddocument study. Data were analyzed descriptively. The results showed that based on input components, SOP and facilities had met the standard, while the staff, the type of data, and funds had’nt metthe standard yet. Based on process component, contingency planning had been done according to the standard. Both geomedic mapping and identification of social and economic in the process of activities planning of prevention, mitigation, and disaster response preparedness actions didn’t conduct. Based on the output component, the health department already had a contingency plan, but didn’t have geomedic maps and prevention, mitigation, and disaster response preparedness actions plan. This study concluded that pre-disaster planning activities of Bojonegoro Regency Health Office wasn’t good. The suggestion given are control SOP, increase the staff amount, complete thedata types, allocate funds, make budgettaryplanning, provide vehicles, conduct identification of social and economic, give training to staffs, and make outline of the geomedicmap and prevention, mitigation, and disaster response preparedness actions plan.Keywords: planning, pre-disaster, floods