Disaster preparedness and learning needs among community health nurse coordinators in South Sulawesi Indonesia

Background: The number of natural disasters occurring worldwide has increased, including Indonesia, a country that continues to experience natural disasters of varying level of severity. Despite this evidence, limited information is available about nurses’ disaster preparedness in Indonesia particularly in community settings. This study aims to identify the current level of disaster preparedness and learning needs for managing natural disasters as perceived by community health nurse (CHN) coordinators who are working in community health settings in South Sulawesi, Indonesia. 

Methods: This study used a descriptive study design. A self-administered survey, the Disaster Preparedness Evaluation Tools (DPET^®) was utilized to determine the current levels of disaster preparedness and management of the CHN coordinators. In addition, structured questions were used to identify learning needs. It was distributed to 254 CHN coordinators working in community health settings in South Sulawesi Province, Indonesia. 

Results: In total 214 CHN coordinators completed the survey. There were around 6.5% respondents perceived their current disaster preparedness as weak; 84.6% moderate; and 8.9% rated their preparedness as strong. Around one-third of the participants considered frequent disaster drills as the best learning method to achieve effective disaster preparedness. 

Conclusion: Although overall disaster preparedness levels of the CHN coordinators in South Sulawesi province Indonesia were moderate, continuing disaster training that integrates CHN coordinators specific learning needs is still required to achieve effective disaster preparedness and management in community levels.