Challenges of Female Nurses in Disasters: A Qualitative Study

Abstract

Background: Awareness of nurses’ experiences is helpful to identify current problems in\rproviding services during disasters. In this regard, better planning and preparation may reduce\rthe problems of this large group of health care providers. This study aimed to investigate the\rexperiences of female nurses in providing services during disasters.\rMaterials and Methods: This is a qualitative study with content analysis approach. The\rparticipants comprised 15 nurses with experience in providing healthcare services during\rdisasters. Samples were recruited by purposive sampling method and sampling was continued\runtil data saturation. Data were collected through semi-structured interviews, then analyzed by\rmanifest content analysis.\rResults: Based on experiences and perceptions of nurses, three main categories found out\rof analyses of the obtained data were as follows: “the importance of paying attention to the\rspecific needs of female nurses,” “places for female nurses during disastrous period,” and “the\rimportance of the presence of female nurses in providing services.”\rConclusion: Many factors affect the services delivered by female nurses. The results of this\rstudy showed that the specific needs of female nurses, who are the main body of Iranian nurses,\rcould maximize their performance and minimize their psychological and emotional damages.