Hostname: page-component-586b7cd67f-tf8b9 Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2024-11-23T18:08:00.591Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false
  • English
  • Français

The Effect of Immersive Training on Emergency Preparedness for Interdisciplinary College Students: A Single Group Pretest, Posttest

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  28 February 2022

Sharon White-Lewis Open the ORCID record for Sharon White-Lewis [Opens in a new window] ,
Conner Berens  and
Joseph S. Lighter Open the ORCID record for Joseph S. Lighter [Opens in a new window]
Sharon White-Lewis*
Affiliation:
School of Nursing, Rasmussen University, Overland Park, KS, USA
Conner Berens
Affiliation:
School of Nursing and Health Studies, University of Missouri Kansas City, MO, USA
Joseph S. Lighter
Affiliation:
School of Nursing and Health Studies, University of Missouri Kansas City, MO, USA
*
Corresponding author: Sharon White-Lewis, Email: [email protected]
Get access Rights & Permissions [Opens in a new window]

Abstract

Objective:

Current standard practice for disaster response training is insufficient to prepare future responders. Interdisciplinary immersive education is necessary for disaster responders to react quickly to the devastating destruction, dangerous situations, and ethical dilemmas, while caring for survivors, families, and communities with limited resources. This study tests the effects of immersive emergency preparedness education on interdisciplinary college students.

Methods:

Thirty-four college students attended a 3-day immersive disaster training event. Interdisciplinary teams were given 6 challenges to adapt and overcome: mass casualty; field hospital triage, treatment, and transportation; water rescue; high building rescue; search and rescue; and a water treatment. A pretest and posttest survey, Emergency Preparedness Information Questionnaire (EPIQ), was administered to all participants.

Results:

Statistically significant improvements in triage, biological agent detection, assessing critical resources, incident command, psychological issues, clinical decision making, and communication (range of P = 0.000–0.003). Improvement in clinical significance resulted in a change from limited knowledge to familiarity with the subject in all cases except isolation, quarantine, and decontamination.

Conclusions:

Preparation and training of health care professionals need to include immersive disaster scenarios that create the experience of fatigue, psychological challenges, and physical stresses.

Keywords

immersive educationdisaster response trainingdisaster training
Type
Brief Report
Information
Disaster Medicine and Public Health Preparedness , Volume 16 , Issue 6 , December 2022 , pp. 2397 - 2400
Copyright
© The Author(s), 2022. Published by Cambridge University Press on behalf of Society for Disaster Medicine and Public Health, Inc.

Access options

Get access to the full version of this content by using one of the access options below. (Log in options will check for institutional or personal access. Content may require purchase if you do not have access.)

References

Ritchie, H, Roser, M. Natural Disasters. Our World Data. Published June 3, 2014. Accessed November 14, 2019. https://ourworldindata.org/natural-disasters Google Scholar
Turale, S. Nursing education: preparing for the inevitability of disasters and emergencies. Nurse Educ Pract. 2015;15(1):52. doi: 10.1016/j.nepr.2015.01.002 CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
World Health Organization, Regional Office for the Western Pacific, International Council of Nurses. ICN Framework of Disaster Nursing Competencies. Published 2009. Accessed October 31, 2019. http://www.icn.ch/images/stories/documents/publications/free_publications/24_June_2009_Disaster_Nursing_Competencies_lite.pdf Google Scholar
Li, YH, Li, SJ, Chen, SH, et al. Disaster nursing experiences of Chinese nurses responding to the Sichuan Ya’an earthquake. Int Nurs Rev. 2017;64(2):309-317.Google Scholar
VanDevanter, N, Raveis, VH, Kovner, CT, et al. Challenges and resources for nurses participating in a Hurricane Sandy hospital evacuation. J Nurs Scholarsh. 2017;49(6):635-643. doi: 10.1111/jnu.12329 CrossRefGoogle Scholar
FEMA. National Incident Management System (NIMS). Published October 8, 2015. Accessed February 21, 2020. https://training.fema.gov/nims/ Google Scholar
Georgino, M, Kress, T, Alexander, S, Beach, M. Emergency preparedness education for nurses. J Trauma Nurs. 2015;22(5). doi: 10.1097/jtn.0000000000000148 Google ScholarPubMed
Garbutt, SJ, Peltier, JW, Fitzpatrick, JJ. Evaluation of an instrument to measure nurses’ familiarity with emergency preparedness. Mil Med. 2008;173(11):1073-1077. doi: 10.7205/MILMED.173.11.1073 CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Park, H-Y, Kim, J-S. Factors influencing disaster nursing core competencies of emergency nurses. Appl Nurs Res. 2017;37:1-5. doi: 10.1016/j.apnr.2017.06.004 CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Huh, S-S, Kang, H-Y. Effects of an educational program on disaster nursing competency. Public Health Nurs. 2019;36(1):28-35. doi: 10.1111/phn.12557 CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Gaillard, JC, Cadag, JRD, Rampengan, MMF. People’s capacities in facing hazards and disasters: an overview. Nat Hazards. 2019;95(3):863-876. doi: 10.1007/s11069-018-3519-1 Google Scholar