Effects of an educational program on disaster nursing competency

Objective: The purpose of this study was to examine the effects of an educational program on disaster nursing competency among Korean nursing students. Design and Sample: A quasi-experimental design with a nonequivalent control group was used. We randomly assigned 60 junior nursing students from two nursing colleges in Korea to an experimental group (n = 30) and a control group (n = 30). Measures: A disaster educational program for nursing students was developed based on the International Council of Nurses framework of disaster nursing competencies. The program sought to teach nursing activities by stage of disaster (i.e., prevention/mitigation, preparedness, response, and recovery/rehabilitation). Disaster nursing knowledge, disaster triage, and disaster readiness were measured as dependent variables. Results: Compared with the control group, the experimental group showed a significant increase in disaster nursing knowledge (t = 14.37, p < 0.001), disaster triage (t = 7.90, p = 0.002), and disaster readiness (t = 10.82, p < 0.001). Conclusion: The disaster educational program developed in this study was effective in increasing disaster nursing competency among nursing students and is therefore a useful intervention strategy for nursing students.