Assessment of the effects of the disaster on the healthcare professionals working in the area after the Kahramanmaraş earthquakes: a qualitative research

Purpose This study aims to evaluate the individual effects of the 6 February 2023 Kahramanmaras-centered earthquakes on healthcare workers. Design/methodology/approach The population of this qualitative study consists of the healthcare professionals who volunteered to work in the field following the 6 February 2023 Kahramanmaras earthquakes, and the sample consists of 10 healthcare professionals who provided healthcare services in the first 72 h. The data were obtained through in-depth interviews using a previously prepared semi-structured form. The data were analyzed using the content analysis technique. Findings Four themes were determined based on their statements, which were grouped under the headings “positive effects,” “negative effects,” “professional effects” and “expectations.” It was determined in this study that healthcare workers experienced some negativities in their professional lives after the 6 February 2023 Kahramanmaras earthquake as well as positive experiences; these positive situations occurred in the form of feeling more valuable after the earthquake, increasing their awareness about the earthquake, learning to consider events from a positive perspective, exhibiting more helpful attitudes and behaviors, not postponing issues that will make life meaningful and strengthening the bond they established with their families. In terms of professional achievements, it was determined that healthcare professionals could achieve significant levels of professional satisfaction, experience, team solidarity and empathic approach. On the other hand, it was concluded in this study that healthcare professionals encountered economic and physical challenges and that disasters increase psychosocial issues, including sleep disturbance, feelings of inadequacy, worthlessness, powerlessness, withdrawal, claustrophobia and loss of meaning. Originality/value The results achieved in this study revealed that even though disaster outcomes have negative effects on healthcare professionals, the experience gained is an important achievement for the discipline. Therefore, using the disaster experience gained by healthcare professionals as source data in planning healthcare services for disasters can yield improvements in the outcomes of the next disaster process. Moreover, the support that will be given to healthcare professionals to cope with their negative experiences is very important in terms of protecting experienced human resources in disasters. To increase the level of success in health services in case of disasters, future studies should integrate the experiences of health workers into health management in disasters and develop health policies that will reduce the negative consequences.