The Role of Nurses in Disaster Management

Abstract

Disasters are crisis situations that affect societies physically, economically and socially. At the same time, disasters negatively affect the physical, psychological and social well-being of individuals. Although different reactions are seen in different age groups in case of disasters, health problems such as injury, disability, infection and death are experienced most frequently. In addition, psychological problems such as post-traumatic stress disorder, anxiety, anger, depression, sleep and eating disorders are also observed after disasters. Due to the nature of disasters, their sudden and unexpected occurrence requires faster and coordinated action in the current process. Disaster management is a systematic process prepared before, during and after the disaster. Nurses are the largest health service provider group and at every stage of disaster management, they exhibit a holistic care approach to both individuals affected by the disaster and their families. Therefore, disaster nurses should be specialised in their field and should be present at every stage of disaster management. The aim of this review is to discuss the role of nurses in disaster management and the situation in Turkey. When we look at Turkey, this speciality has not developed sufficiently both in terms of education and legal regulations. The fact that disaster education differs in the curriculum at undergraduate level, there are no postgraduate programmes on this subject, and the duties, authorities and responsibilities are not sufficiently defined in the relevant regulations and laws negatively affect the knowledge and skill development of nurses. © 2024, Ankara University. All rights reserved.