KNOWLEDGE, PRACTICE AND ASSOCIATED FACTORS TOWARDS DISASTER PREPAREDNESS AMONG NURSES WORKING IN THE EMERGENCY DEPARTMENT OF PUBLIC HOSPITALS IN SIDAMA REGION, ETHIOPIA,2023.

Abstract

Introduction: According to recent researches, nurses in health-care settings who lack sufficient knowledge and practice in disaster preparedness can lose resources, delay treatments, cause patient unhappiness, and have other negative effects. Little is known regarding nurses’ knowledge, practice, and associated factors towards disaster preparedness in Ethiopia, particularly in this study area. Objective: The aim of this study was to assess the knowledge, practice and associated factors toward disaster preparedness among nurses working in emergency department at Public Hospitals in Sidama region, Ethiopia, 2023. Methods: A facility-based cross-sectional study design was conducted among randomly selected 175 nurses working in the emergency department (ED) from June 15 to July 15, 2023. The collected data was entered into Epi Data Version 4.6 and exported to Statistical Package for Social Science (SPSS) Version 25 for analysis. A logistic regression model was used to assess the strength of the association between the dependent and independent variables. Variables with a p-value <0.05 in the multivariable analysis were considered statistically significant. Results: A total of 175 nurses working in emergency departments participated in the study. The mean age of the respondents was 29 ± 4 years. From all study participants, around 95 (53%) and 114 (65%) of nurses working in the ED had poor knowledge levels and insufficient practice towards disaster preparedness respectively.In multivariate logistic regression, being male(AOR=2.6(CI 95%1.19-5.76 p=0.017), receiving training on subject (AOR=6.42, CI 95% 2.2-15.8, P=0.000), and having experience in disaster management(AOR=2.43, CI 95% 1.02 5.62, p=0.043) were factors significantly associated with the good knowledge of participants, while having disaster guideline(AOR=3.96, CI 95% 1.6-9.5, p=0.002, direct personal or professional exposure to disaster events, receiving training(AOR=4.4, CI 95% 1.7-11.8, p=0.003), and having good knowledge (AOR=3.32, CI 95% 1.7-11.8, p=0.01) were significantly associated with sufficient practices. Conclusion and recommendation: The current study revealed that more than half of the study participants have poor knowledge and insufficient practice in disaster preparedness. It’s advisable to hospitals have to have and distribute disaster guideline in emergency departments, and ongoing professional development training for nurses has to be given to improve the knowledge and practice of nurses working in the emergency department.