Abstract
Background: Healthcare centers, as the primary organizations involved in the occurrence of unexpected events, require to identify significant and influential motivational factors in the creation of willingness and, consequently, the ability of health personnel and staff (nurses) to respond to critical situations as the main organizational assets. This study was designed with the aim to determine the factors affecting the willingness and ability of nurses to deal with various disasters in Tehran hospitals.Methods: This research is a cross-sectional study. The instrument used is a researcher-made questionnaire, which consists of three parts of demographic information, evaluation of the level of nurses' willingness and ability to respond to various disasters, and obstacles to continuing to work in disasters.Results: A total of 308 questionnaires were completed. 39.3% of participants were female, and 60.7% of them were male. The level of willingness and ability of participants to continue working in crisis indicates that the highest willingness and ability are associated with natural disasters (floods, earthquakes), and the lowest willingness and ability are related to participating in response to the disease epidemic. The prioritization of the participants in this study in connection with the most critical barriers to responding to the crisis demonstrated that caring for children in natural disasters and Mass Casualty Incident, concern for family health in chemical disasters, fear of contamination in nuclear disasters, and fear of Infection in epidemic of diseases are among the most important obstacles. In examining the factors influencing the willingness and ability of research units to participate in disaster response raised, the factors of gender, age, marital status, and health level of individuals affected the level of willingness and ability of individuals. Besides, the components of income level, care for the elderly, and care for the disabled have only been influential on the willingness of people to participate in disaster response.Conclusion: The professional preparation of health care personnel to perform their duties in critical conditions is essential. Hence, preventive measures to minimize the risk and strengthen the ethical obligations of employees in this profession in crises will be beneficial.
Specialty Preferences among Under Graduate Medical Students in a Private Medical College: A Cross sectional study
