Factors that affect nursing students' willingness to respond to disasters or public health emergencies

Abstract

Conditions throughout the United States are such that the frequency and intensity of disasters have increased, affecting more people, thereby increasing the demand on healthcare facilities and disaster response organizations. The demands to protect and care for existing patients while also providing medical care to victims of disasters can exacerbate the existing shortage of nurses. Alternative human resource strategies should consider the potential use of nursing students to increase available personnel resources. Unfortunately, little is known about the willingness of nursing students to help during a disaster. The purpose of this study was to examine willingness to respond among student nurses and identify factors that affected willingness. A quantitative research design using an online survey collected data from baccalaureate-level registered nursing students at two universities (n=110) during the Spring 2016 semester. The findings depicted a high level of overall willingness to respond to a disaster, with student nurses more willing to respond to natural disasters than human-caused disasters. Factors such as fear for personal safety, type of disaster, and lack of training were negatively correlated with willingness to respond; whereas perceived moral obligation and the belief that nursing students should be encourage to volunteer were positively correlated with willingness to respond.