The Disaster Preparedness and Professional Quality of Life among Nurses in Emergency Rooms of Regional Emergency Medical Center

Abstract

The purpose of this study was to investigate the disaster preparedness and professional quality of life among nurses in emergency departments. The participants in this study were 56 nurses in emergency departments in two cities. The data were collected by questionnaires survey from January to August 2016. All statistical analyses were performed using SPSS ver. 23.0 program. Participants’ disaster preparedness was different according to position (t=-2.32, p=.004), type of working (t=-2.32, p=.004), and frequency of traumatic events (F=5.26, p=.009). There were significant differences by gender (t=2.88, p=.006), desire for continuous work in the emergency room (t=2.95, p=.005), and job satisfaction (F=10.81,p < .001) in compassion satisfaction. Burnout was different according to gender (t=-2.05, p=.045), choice of an emergency department (t=-2.37, p=.021), desire for continuous work in the emergency room (t=-2.31, p=.025), and job satisfaction (F=11.99, p < .001). Disaster preparedness and compassion satisfaction had positively significant correlations. Compassion satisfaction of nurses in emergency department was an important variable that should be considered to improve their disaster preparedness.