Disaster Preparedness in Philippine Nurses

PURPOSE: This study examined the perceived level of disaster preparedness in Philippine nurses. DESIGN: A descriptive, cross-sectional research design was used in this study. METHODS: Two hundred nurses were invited to participate in the study, with 170 responses (105 hospital nurses and 65 community nurses) or an 85% response rate, during the months of April 2014 through July 2014. Data collection was based on interviews using a standardized instrument, the Disaster Preparedness Questionnaire. Descriptive statistics such as frequencies, means, percentages, and standard deviations were utilized to quantify the responses. RESULTS: Three fourths of the respondents (n = 136, 80%) indicated that they were not fully prepared to respond to disasters, while only 20% (n = 34) acknowledged that they felt they were adequately prepared. Respondents believed that they could function in the primary roles of educator (n = 107, 62.94%), caregiver (n = 104, 61.17%), and counselor (n = 82, 48.24%). More than half of the respondents (n = 98, 57.7%) were not aware of existing protocols of disaster management in the workplace. Courses taken in such areas as first aid (n = 79, 46.4%), field triage (n = 43, 25.29%), and basic cardiac life support (n = 57, 33.53%) were cited as important in preparing for disasters. CONCLUSIONS: Nurses in the study revealed that they were not sufficiently prepared for disasters nor were they aware of disaster management protocols in the workplace. CLINICAL RELEVANCE: Hospital administrators should consider the development and formulation of disaster management protocols and provide appropriate disaster nursing education and training. Nursing curricula should incorporate basic principles of disaster management into nursing courses as a framework for addressing this critical deficit.