Disaster Education Among Student Nurses After the Kahramanmaraş Earthquake

Disasters are events that cause widespread destruction, exceeding a society's capacity to respond without external assistance. These events may arise from natural or human-induced causes and often result in significant social and environmental consequences. Recent years have seen a marked increase in natural disasters globally. For instance, in 2022, 387 natural disasters affected 185 million people worldwide. The earthquakes that struck the Kahramanmaraş region in Turkey in February 2023 caused massive devastation, impacting over 9 million people and resulting in more than 50,000 fatalities.

To reduce disaster-related losses, integrating disaster risk planning into national policies is essential. Disaster management involves four main stages: preparedness, mitigation, response, and recovery. Among healthcare professionals, nurses have a particularly crucial role at every stage. Their awareness and response capabilities directly influence the effectiveness of disaster interventions. Therefore, strengthening nursing education in disaster preparedness is of growing importance.

Globally, disaster-related content is included in undergraduate and postgraduate nursing education, especially in high-risk areas. However, in Turkey, such content is often limited. Previous studies show that nurses' awareness and competencies in disaster response remain inadequate. While numerous studies assess nursing students' knowledge and awareness, few focus on interventions to improve disaster response self-efficacy.

This study aims to evaluate the effect of a multidimensional disaster training program on nursing students' disaster awareness and self-efficacy.

A quasi-experimental randomized controlled trial was conducted with first- and second-year nursing students who had not received prior education in public health or disaster management. From a pool of 120 eligible students, 108 were randomly assigned into intervention and control groups (54 each), based on stratification by class and gender. The sample size was calculated using G*Power software based on medium effect size assumptions.

Prior to the intervention, all participants completed a personal information form, the Disaster Response Self-Efficacy Scale (DRSES), and the Disaster Awareness Scale (DAS). As none had high initial scores, both groups were deemed suitable for the study.

The intervention group received a web-based training program consisting of ten one-hour sessions. Each session included interactive components such as Kahoot-based quizzes to enhance engagement. The curriculum was developed with input from 12 experts across various medical and educational fields and aligned with the Turkish Disaster and Emergency Management Authority's (AFAD) guidelines. Topics included types of disasters, risk analysis, use of personal protective equipment, triage, first aid, and psychosocial support.

Following the training, both groups retook the same assessments, and post-test data were collected for analysis.

Inclusion criteria

• Being 18 years of age or older,
• Being a first- or second-year student enrolled in the Nursing Department of a university,
• Not having received any prior education related to Public Health or Disaster Management,
• Reading and approving the informed voluntary consent form and agreeing to participate in the study.

Exclusion criteria

• Having received prior education or training in public health, disaster preparedness, or disaster management,
• Currently enrolled in or having completed any course related to disasters, Not providing informed consent,
• Being absent during either the intervention or data collection phases.