To evaluate the perception of disaster preparedness and response self-efficacy of nurses living and working in the region affected by the earthquakes in Turkey on February 6, 2023.

This cross-sectional, relationship-seeking research was conducted between March 10 and May 10, 2024 with 344 nurses in a hospital in the province of Kahramanmaraş, which was the epicentre of the February 2023 earthquake. A Personal Information Form, the Perception of Nurses of Disaster Preparedness Scale (PNDPS), and the Disaster Response Self-Efficacy Scale (DRSES) were used in data collection. Pathway analysis and confirmatory factor analyis were used in the evaluation of the data.

Age, gender, educational level, disaster training, and having lost someone close in a disaster were determined to have a significant effect on the perception of disaster preparedness, and response self-efficacy (P < 0.05). The perception of the stage of preparation was determined to be 0.136-fold greater in those with a disaster preparation plan (P < 0.05). Perception of the post-disaster stage was determined to be 0.130-fold greaater in those with a disaster preparation plan (P < 0.05).

This study demonstrated that nurses working in the earthquake region had high levels of disaster preparedness perception and response self-efficacy.