Nurses' perception of disaster: implications for disaster nursing curriculum.
OBJECTIVE
The aims of the study were to identify nurses' perception of disaster, whether they considered some of the events that have occurred in Hong Kong to be disasters and the types of disastrous events that they considered likely in Hong Kong.


BACKGROUND
The frequent occurrence of disasters has caused concern internationally. When disaster strikes, the demands on nursing staff are much higher than those on other healthcare professionals. There is little understanding of the concept of disaster among nurses in Hong Kong.


METHODS
This was a descriptive study. A questionnaire was used to explore nurses' perception of disaster.


METHODS
The questionnaire was distributed to all registered nurses studying in a master's degree programme in a university in Hong Kong.


RESULTS
Only 123 out of the 164 respondents (75%) gave a description of disaster in the open-ended question. Sixty-one per cent of them described unfortunate events with large numbers of victims as disasters. The 'Lan Kwai Fong tragedy--stampede caused by over-crowdedness' (90.9%) and the severe acute respiratory syndrome outbreak (89.6%) were commonly referred to as disasters in Hong Kong. Fires in tall buildings (61.6%), infectious disease outbreaks (61%) and stampedes caused by overcrowding (48.8%) were rated as the events most likely to happen in Hong Kong.


CONCLUSIONS
Understanding how nurses perceive disaster and the likelihood of disastrous events is the initial step for disaster planning and the development of a disaster nursing curriculum in Hong Kong.


CONCLUSIONS
All nurses around the world should be equipped with knowledge and skills for disaster care. This study provides information and implications for related research and the development of a disaster nursing curriculum to meet the global demand for disaster preparedness.
Fung
W M Olivia
WM
School of Nursing, The Hong Kong Polytechnic University, Hong Kong, China.
Lai
K Y Claudia
KY
Loke
Alice Yuen
AY
D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D001291:Attitude of Health Personnel; D003479:Curriculum; D004190:Disasters; D004506:Education, Nursing / Q000458:organization & administration*; D005260:Female; D006723:Hong Kong; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D009726:Nurses / Q000523:psychology*; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires; D055815:Young Adult