Core Competencies in Disaster Response among Emergency Nurses in Aceh, Indonesia: A Cross-Sectional Study

OBJECTIVE: To identify the core competencies among emergency nurses in disaster response of two hospitals for critical thinking, technical, communication, specific diagnostic, and general diagnostic skills. METHODOLOGY: A descriptive comparative using a cross-sectional study design was conducted. The population comprises all nurses working in the emergency department (EDs) at two public hospitals: provincial and district hospitals. A total sampling technique was conducted to collect data from 88 nurses. The data was collected using the Nurses Perception of Disaster Core Competencies Scale (NPDCC) questionnaire and analyzed using the Mann-Whitney U-test. RESULTS: Results showed significant differences in the core competencies of emergency nurses in the disaster response in provincial and district hospitals. The sub-scale of the study indicated particularly in critical thinking (mean rank 49.86 and 27.60, p=0.000), technical (mean rank = 49.22 and 28.41, p=0.003), and communication skills (mean rank = 46.82 and 31.43, p=0.035) in both hospitals. However, there were no significant differences in specific diagnostic skills (mean rank = 44.72 and 34.07, p=0.177) and general diagnostic skills (mean rank = 46.65 and 31.64, p=0.081) among EDs nurses of both hospitals. CONCLUSION: This study found a significant difference in the core competencies among emergency nurses in the disaster response in both hospitals. Enhancing the competencies of nurses in disaster response, especially in special and general diagnostic skills, is crucial and can be achieved through regular emergency and disaster education training programs. Future training or policy changes are required to improve core competencies among emergency nurses in both hospitals.