Awareness and Assessment of Level of Disaster Preparedness among Nurses of Hospitals Kaur Jasneet1, Upendra Sheela2, Devi A. Seeta1, Barde Sheetal1, Waghmare Sheetal1 1Asst. Prof, Symbiosis College of Nursing, Symbiosis International (Deemed University) 2Assoc. Prof, Symbiosis College of Nursing, Symbiosis International (Deemed University) Online published on 19 August, 2019. Abstract Background A disaster is a serious disruption, occurring over a relatively short time, of the functioning of a community or a society involving widespread human, material, economic or environmental loss and impacts, which exceeds the ability of the affected community or society to cope using its own resources. Purpose The main purpose of the study is to Awareness and Assessment of disaster preparedness among Nurses of emergency departments of hospitals Methodology Quantitative research design has been employed to study the awareness and assessment of level of disaster preparedness. A questionnaire was used to assess the awareness among nurses regarding disaster preparedness. An observational checklist was used to inspect the disaster preparedness Convenience sampling approach has been utilized to recruit the participants of the study. Sample size was 100. The questionnaires were distributed among the Nurses, seeking information regarding the, awareness about disaster and its preparedness, emergency response plan of hospital design, policy of the hospital to control the disaster, Security management plans, and other relevant patient security information. The questionnaire was based on 3 response options i.e. trichotomous A trihotomous checklist was used to assess the level of preparedness. Result and Discussion More than 70% of the hospital nurses well-aware about the hospitals’ emergency response plan in department. Only 55% of staff were aware about the hospital design and structure regarding disaster preparedness. 52% of staff were fully prepared for disaster management whereas 22% are partially prepared. Rest have no idea about the disaster management. There was a significant association between placement of ward of nurses in the hospital and their level of awareness about the disaster. Emergency department (p value at the level of 0.05%) Conclusion It is believed that there is great requirement of complete and comprehensive strategy for disaster response and a complete training requirements of individuals. The awareness of emergency preparedness among the hospital staff nurses was moderate. All the hospital staff should be involved in different aspects of disasters that include mitigation, planning, response, and recovery from any disastrous situation. Top Keywords Disaster, Disaster Preparedness, Nurses, Hospitals. Top |