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The Experiences of Nurses Who Participated in Disaster Relief Efforts After the February 6, 2023 Earthquakes in Türkiye: A Qualitative Study

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  29 July 2025

Sibel Gülen*
Affiliation:
Provincial Quality Coordinator, Düzce Provincial Health Directorate, Düzce, Türkiye
Nilgün Göktepe
Affiliation:
Department of Nursing, Faculty of Health Sciences, Ordu University, Ordu, Türkiye
*
Corresponding author: Sibel Gülen; Email: sibelgulen4@hotmail.com

Abstract

Objectives

Comprising the largest group of health care professionals, nurses play a great role and assume many responsibilities during disaster periods, when the public needs health care services the most. The aim of this study was to reveal the experiences of nurses assigned to the disaster area during relief efforts after the February 6, 2023 earthquakes in Türkiye.

Methods

This qualitative and descriptive study used the maximum variation sampling method, one of the purposive sampling methods, and was completed with 20 nurses. Data were analyzed using inductive content analysis.

Results

Four main themes emerged from the experiences of the nurses who provided health care services in the disaster area: experiences related to pre-mission processes, experiences during the mission, post-mission experiences, and recommendations for disaster preparedness.

Conclusions

Nurses’ experiences and suggestions revealed in this study may inform future disaster preparedness and disaster management plans, and this study’s results point to the need for the development of professional nursing skills in disaster management.

Information

Type
Original Research
Copyright
© The Author(s), 2025. Published by Cambridge University Press on behalf of Society for Disaster Medicine and Public Health, Inc

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