Community care and disasters
Follow-up Survey to Improve Disaster Preparedness at Home-Visit Nursing Stations in Hiroshima Prefecture
【Research Summary】
Despite the fact that Japan is a disaster-prone country, it is not mandatory for the nursing practice of home-visit nursing stations to engage in education and training content that will improve their preparedness for disaster response. In this study, we will 1) assess the disaster preparedness of home-visit nursing stations in Hiroshima Prefecture (i.e., the implementation of disaster action guidelines and regular liaison and collaboration with other organizations in preparation for possible disasters), and identify the educational needs for increasing preparedness,
2)develop a framework for education and training programs to meet the educational needs.
By conducting this research, we will identify the disaster preparedness of the target population and their needs. In addition, we believe that the research subjects will be able to support the building of the station’s organizational capacity to respond to disasters by continuing and increasing communication with stakeholders about disaster preparedness.
【Method】
Phase１：Questionnaire Survey
We will conduct a questionnaire survey of professional staff working at 223 home-visit nursing stations in Hiroshima Prefecture. The main items of the questionnaire are as follows: 1) Overview and attributes of the home-visit nursing stations; 2) Attributes of the respondents (job title, position, length of experience in the area of home-visit nursing, nursing education history, whether or not they have received education or training related to disasters, and whether or not they have experienced a disaster in the past); 3) Details of the implementation of disaster countermeasures; 4) Cooperation with related organizations and related professions in the event of a disaster; 5) Mutual support with the government, base hospitals, and other medical and welfare organizations in the event of a disaster. 6) Details of disaster measures improved or changed due to the 2018 disaster; and 7) Concerns and thoughts about disaster measures (free description).
Phase２：Interview Survey
After consent is obtained on the questionnaire survey, the research will be explained again and an interview survey will be conducted. (Semi-structured interview method)
Phase３：Meeting using the Delphi method
Based on the results of 1 and 2 above, meetings will be held with nurses in charge of education and management using the Delphi method to develop a framework for education and training programs that meet the needs of the participants.
【Progress】
Questionnaire tabulation and analysis, summary of results and discussion (Phase 1) completed.
After the interviews, the verbatim transcripts were imported into NVIVO for categorization and subcategorization, and the results and discussion were summarized (Phase 2).
【Result】
Phase１：The number of respondents to the survey was 89 (39.9%). 61.8% of the offices had a staff size of 10 or less, and 39.3% of the respondents had experienced a disaster in the past. 56.2% of the respondents had received education or training on disasters. As for disaster preparedness, 67.4% of the respondents had a disaster manual or BCP, and the most common content was “a staff emergency contact network” (90.0%). In addition, the following results were obtained from the questionnaire items that were significantly different from the training experience.
・People with disaster experience are more likely to have training experience.
・People with more disaster experience are more likely to have had training.
・Those with more experience in their work area are more likely to have had training.
Respondents’ situation regarding disasters
Nearly half of the organizations surveyed said that they did not know how to prepare for disasters or did not have time to do so due to the small size of their organizations and the limited number of staff in their working environment. In addition to the disaster preparedness manual, the most common disaster preparedness initiative was “participation in training and seminars on disaster nursing”. In the open-ended questionnaire, some respondents expressed their concerns, but they also expressed their positive attitude toward future efforts.
The verbatim transcripts were imported into NVIVO for categorization and subcategorization, and the following four categories were extracted.
- 【Preparation】
[Connections and understanding between visiting nurses and disaster nursing], [Risk management when something happens is only possible on a small scale], [Establishing organization and the state of education] - 【Future issues】
[Need for horizontal connections among stations], [Disparity in knowledge and cooperation between home nursing and nursing care], [How to receive support] - 【Responsibilities as a manager】
[Ethics and sense of justice], [Post-disaster response], [Psychological care] - 【Unexpected experience of disaster】No subcategories were selected.
【Discussion and recommendations】
The scale of management varies from facilities that are run independently to those that have their own parent organization, and some facilities may experience management difficulties due to disasters. In addition, since there are few network established among visiting nurse stations, it is necessary to form networks in the neighborhood on a daily basis, or to strengthen existing networks if there any, and to continue to provide opportunities for information exchange while deepening cooperation with other and multiple professions. In addition, it is necessary to meet the needs for training opportunities on BCP as a management group.
