Knowledge of disaster/emergency nursing is essential to nurse practitioners (NP) due to the increasing frequency of disasters. The objective of this study was to identify the knowledge and the response relating D/EN and to investigate whether the reactions vary among NPs in different level hospitals in Ningbo Area, China.

Pre- and post-test questionnaires were used. A total of 297 NPs in five hospitals (two tertiary hospitals, two secondary hospitals, one primary hospital) were involved in this study. Five lectures were implemented based on disaster/emergency nursing from 8 December 2009 to 14 April 2010.

The mean age of the sample was 31.54 years. Average working experience was 9.57 years. Only 12 participants from the emergency department attended the lecture, yet the lecture was advertised one week in advance. The mean score was 8.88 (pre-test), 12.97 (post-test). Most of the low scores (< 7) on the pre-test were from primary hospitals (43%), while only 0.6% of staff from tertiary hospitals scored that low. A total of 45% of NPs failed to distinguish the contribution of different zones of triage. Nearly 24% of participants considered that the frequency of ALS training should no more than once a month. All participants comprehended the contribution of a triage system after attending lecture, 35% of NPs received perfect scores on the post-test.

Comprehension of disaster/emergency nursing in NPs in Ningbo is deficient. Primary hospital NPs had a lower score than high-level hospitals. Education and training programs associated with disaster/emergency nursing are necessary for NPs.