DISASTER PREPAREDNESS ASSESSMENT IN EMERGENCY DEPARTMENT: A CROSS-SECTIONAL STUDY

Abstract

INTRODUCTION: The increasing incidence of natural and non-natural disasters has become a new challenge for nurses in the emergency department (ED). The efficiency of health services provided to the community is needed to optimize disaster preparedness management by nurses in ED. This study aimed to assess the level of disaster preparedness assessment among emergency nurses in Padang of Indonesia. MATERIAL AND METHODS: A cross-sectional study design was conducted in three emergency departments: a teaching hospital, a public hospital, and a referral hospital in Padang of Indonesia. Fifty nurses in ED were selected using a purposive sampling technique. A self-administered questionnaire was used to measure the sociodemographic of nurses. Meanwhile, the Emergency Preparedness Information Questionnaire (EPIQ) was used to measure emergency nurses' disaster preparedness assessment. Data were analyzed using independent T-test and One-way ANOVA. RESULTS: The finding of this study indicated there were no differences in the level of assessment preparedness for disaster among nurses by nursing education. However, there were differences in the level of assessment preparedness for disaster among nurses by places of work, especially sub-dimension familiarity with isolation, quarantine, and decontamination (p = 0.045), psychological issues (p = 0.029), and communication and connectivity (p = 0.018). CONCLUSIONS: Familiarity is associated with isolation, quarantine, decontamination, psychological issues, and communication and connectivity among nurses in ED. Therefore, the hospital can utilize the planning and disaster-based programs services used as an instrument to adjust for potential disasters in the hospital region. Furthermore, nurses' self-efficacy can increase psychological issues to optimize disaster knowledge and skill.