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Undergraduate nursing students' perceptions about disaster preparedness and response in I stanbul, T urkey, and M iyazaki, J apan: A cross‐sectional study
Author(s) -
Öztekin Seher Deniz,
Larson Eric Edwin,
Yüksel Serpil,
Altun Uğraş Gülay
Publication year - 2015
Publication title -
japan journal of nursing science
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.363
H-Index - 17
eISSN - 1742-7924
pISSN - 1742-7932
DOI - 10.1111/jjns.12058
Subject(s) - preparedness , disaster preparedness , perception , cross sectional study , emergency management , triage , psychology , emergency response , covid-19 , medicine , medical emergency , disease , political science , pathology , neuroscience , law , infectious disease (medical specialty)
Aim Although the awareness of disasters has increased among nurses, the concept of disaster preparedness and response has not been sufficiently explored with undergraduate nursing students. The aim of this study was to assess and compare the perceptions of students regarding disaster preparedness and response that live in different earthquake‐prone cities; I stanbul, T urkey and M iyazaki, J apan. Methods A cross‐sectional study employing seven questions was conducted in a final group of 1053 nursing students from I stanbul, T urkey, and M iyazaki, J apan. Results Most study respondents were female, aged 18–22 years, with a high proportion of second year students in both cities. Istanbul 's students had more knowledge about disaster preparedness and response in relation to age and year of university, showing statistically significant differences. Istanbul 's highest rated responses to disaster characteristics were on structural elements and injuries/deaths, while M iyazaki's was “unpredictable/sudden/disorganized”. Respondents in I stanbul identified earthquakes as the disaster most likely to occur, while respondents in M iyazaki identified typhoon/hurricane. Study participants responded that they could provide caregiver roles during a disaster event rather than triage or managerial roles as disaster responders. Conclusion Disaster characteristics were not described by one third of the students. Of the two‐thirds that were described, most were of events that were highly predictable because of their frequencies in the given areas. Universities need to target and then focus on high‐risk factors in their areas and have disaster plans for students who can provide triage and managerial nursing roles as disaster responders.