Development of disaster nursing in Japan, and trends of disaster nursing in the world.

ABSTRACT

AIM: The aims of this paper are to describe what Japanese nurses have learned and contributed to disaster nursing development, and to review trends of disaster nursing in the world. METHODS: The content of the paper is based on literature reviews. The description of the paper is also based on experiences by author. RESULTS: Through experiences among Japanese nurses related to Hanshin-Awaji Earthquake in Japan, development of nursing support network, academic societies of disaster nursing, nursing care provision system were accomplished. Disaster nursing education at undergraduate and graduate programs and continuing training have been started. Descriptive research and evaluation research have been conducted in the world. CONCLUSION: Disaster nursing is one domain of nursing discipline generated from demands in reality and society. More research and capacity building related to disaster nursing are needed while facilitating development of networking and collaboration among relevant organizations.