WORLD JOURNAL OF ADVANCE
HEALTHCARE RESEARCH

*Fazl Ur Rahman, Dr. Poonam Sharma and Geetika Kayshap

ABSTRACT

Background: Disasters may be defined as "any destructive events that disrupt the normal functioning of a community". The increasing frequency of disasters worldwide necessitates nurses to adequately prepare to respond to disasters to mitigate the negative consequences of the event on the affected population. Despite growing initiatives to prepare nurses for any disasters, evidence suggests they are under prepared for disaster response and the importance of upstream readiness, a persistent challenge for public health practitioners is defining what it means to be prepared. There is a knowledge gap in that existing frameworks lack consideration for complexity relevant to health systems and the emergency context. Aim: This study is aimed to assess the level of nurses’ knowledge and practices regarding disasters and emergency preparedness. Methods: Quantitative, descriptive, cross-sectional survey approach was used to assess nurse’s knowledge and practices among 100 random staff nurses of selected hospitals of Gurugram by using socio demographic data sheet, Descriptive statistics and Chi square test. Results: In overall view of the present study findings; the mean percentage of the knowledge score was 69.8% and the mean percentage of the practice score was 66.5%. The study findings revealed that knowledge and practices of disaster preparedness was average level with highly significant differences P? .000. Conclusion: Based on the present study results; it can be concluded that the level of knowledge and practice were average regarding disaster preparedness and neutral familiarity with emergency preparedness were found. Thus, an integration of clearly titled theory and practice teaching courses about disaster preparedness into nursing curriculum are needed and provided in respect to their knowledge and training preferences. Further, follow up research are necessary for maximizing nursing education and nursing quality in these critical areas applied to healthcare and community setting.

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