Disaster response self-efficacy of nursing students: Perceived level and associated factors.

ABSTRACT

OBJECTIVES: The study aimed to assess the level of disaster response self-efficacy (DRSE) among nursing students in Bangladesh and examine the factors influencing their level of DRSE. METHODS: A cross-sectional study design was used for this research. A self-administered descriptive structured questionnaire was used to collect survey data from 573 students of nursing colleges in four districts Chattogram, Dhaka, Khulna, and Rajshahi. The Bengali version of the DRSE Scale was adopted and used to measure the outcome variable. RESULTS: The nursing students exhibited a moderate level of disaster response self-efficacy (Mean = 3.63; SD = 0.73), as well as moderate levels of knowledge (Mean = 3.87; SD = 0.71), skills (Mean = 4.24; SD = 0.91), and preparedness (Mean = 4.31; SD = 0.76) in disaster management. Significant positive correlations were found between respondents' disaster knowledge (r = 0.447, p < 0.01), skills (r = 0.516, p < 0.01), and preparedness (r = 0.701, p < 0.01) with disaster response self-efficacy. Gender, age, having children in the household, post-basic BSc in nursing students, and disaster knowledge were significantly associated with nursing students' DRSE. Female respondents had a 0.27-unit lower DRSE (ß = -0.270 (95 % CI -0.389, -0.115), p < 0.001) than male respondents. Besides, the respondents per unit increase in disaster knowledge occurred a 0.438-unit increase in DRSE (ß = 0.438 (95 % CI 0.367, 0.510), p < 0.001). However, no statistically significant associations were found between the respondents' disaster experience and disaster-related training with their DRSE scores. CONCLUSION: Improving disaster management knowledge by including disaster management-related courses and organizing more training, drills, seminars, and workshops may improve their DRSE.