Sustaining Power of Nurses in a Damaged Hospital During the Great East Japan Earthquake

PURPOSE: This study aimed to describe the experiences of nurses who were employed in a psychiatric hospital in Fukushima prefecture during the Great East Japan Earthquake and to explore what sustained the nurses while they worked in the damaged hospital. DESIGN AND METHODS: The research design was a qualitative descriptive study. The setting for the study was one of the Fukushima psychiatric hospitals where functions were disrupted by the earthquake and tsunami. Data were collected through a dialogic interview and Katarai (a form of group interview). Nine psychiatric nurses from the hospital participated. The interview and Katarai were transcribed and the narratives were analyzed using a phenomenological approach. FINDINGS: Themes identified from the transcripts were: (a) the nurses’ internalized perception of their duties, (b) responsibility toward their patients, (c) conflicts among nurses and dilemmas nurses faced during this period, and (d) what sustained the nurses to continue working. CONCLUSIONS: Through the earthquake experience, the nurses in this study reconsidered their own ways of living and ways of nursing that they had not thought about before the disaster. The findings also revealed that the state of hospital management and nursing care under normal conditions are reflected during the crisis situation in a disaster. CLINICAL RELEVANCE: Clearly, whether it is natural disaster or conflict caused by man, healthcare infrastructures are challenged when unexpected disruptions occur. The findings of this study are applicable not only because they provide guidance about infrastructure development for disaster preparedness, but also because they provide practical methods to support nurses who are placed in strongly stressful situations and have to protect patients.