Cross-sectional survey of the disaster preparedness of nurses across the Asia-Pacific region.

Healthcare workers who have received disaster preparedness education are more likely to report a greater understanding of disaster preparedness. However, research indicates that current nursing curricula do not adequately prepare nurses to respond to disasters. This is the first study to assess Asia-Pacific nurses' perceptions about their level of disaster knowledge, skills, and preparedness. A cross-sectional survey was conducted with 757 hospital and community nurses in seven Asia-Pacific countries. Data were collected using the modified Disaster Preparedness Evaluation Tool. Participants were found to have overall low-to-moderate levels of disaster knowledge, skills and preparedness, wherein important gaps were identified. A majority of the variance in disaster preparedness scores was located at the level of the individual respondent, not linked to countries or institutions. Multilevel random effects modelling identified disaster experience and education as significant factors of positive perceptions of disaster knowledge, skills, and management. The first step toward disaster preparedness is to ensure frontline health workers are able to respond effectively to disaster events. The outcomes of this study have important policy and education implications.

Strengthening and preparing: enhancing nursing research for disaster management.

Nurses are often first line responders in a large scale emergency or disaster. This paper reports an evaluative study of a tailored research capacity building course for nurse delegates from the Asia Pacific Emergency and Disaster Nursing Network (APEDNN). Twenty-three participant delegates from 19 countries attended a three-week course that included learning and teaching about the critique and conduct of research. An outcome of the course was the collaborative design of a study now being implemented in a number of countries with the aim of investigating nurses' preparedness for disaster response. Formal mentoring relationships have also been established between more and less experienced peers and facilitators to provide support in implementing this collaborative study. Overall, participant delegates rated the planning, implementation and content of the course highly. Recommendations from this study include funding a mix of face-to-face and distance mentoring and writing for publication workshops to ensure the sustainability of outcomes from a research capacity building course such as the one described.

Social media and nursing practice: changing the balance between the social and technical aspects of work.

Modern communication methods are drastically changing the way people interact with each other. Professions such as nursing need to evolve to remain relevant as social infrastructure changes. In the 1960s, researchers developed a sociotechnical theory that stated workers were more motivated and productive if there was a good balance between the social and technical aspects of their work. Today's technology is blurring the boundaries between the social and the technical thereby transforming human contact and communication into a multi-method process. In Australia, people are adept at utilising social media technology to become more efficient, creative and connected; Australian nurses also need to embrace changing technology to capitalise on the professional opportunities offered by social media. This paper imagines a world where nurses integrate social media into assessing, diagnosing, planning, implementing and evaluating care. Discussion draws on a combination of real-world examples of best-practice and blue-sky thinking to demonstrate that evidence-based care must be combined with the adoption of future-forward technology.

An educational program for mental health nurses and community health workers from pacific island countries: results from a pilot study.

Delivery of mental health care relies upon professionals with the latest evidence upon which to base their care. This research reports on a pre-test/post-test evaluation of a four-week education program delivered to Pacific Island participants (n = 18) to enhance knowledge, skills, and attitudes (KSAs). The education program used a combination of formal lectures, tutorials, clinical visits, simulations, and laboratory sessions. The measure used was the Nurse Self Report (NSR) questionnaire. Results indicate an education intervention can be an effective tool for improving the knowledge, skills, and attitudes of Pacific Island people who care for persons experiencing mental health problems.