A Comparison of the Contents of Disaster Nursing Practices and Perceived Difficulties among Nurses Working at Welfare Evacuation Shelters during Natural Disasters and Multiple Disasters: A Qualitative Study

In this study, we compared the disaster relief practices of nurses who worked in welfare shelters in Iwate and Miyagi Prefectures, areas in which only natural disasters occurred, and nurses who worked in Fukushima Prefecture, an area in which both nuclear and natural disasters occurred during the Great East Japan Earthquake in 2011, in order to identify commonalities and differences between them. We conducted semi-structured interviews with two nurses from each prefecture. The results revealed that “nursing practice with minimal available materials and personnel” and “nursing practice based on knowledge and experience as a nurse” were common themes in the content of nursing practices, whereas “securing human resources during disasters and considering ideal welfare evacuation centers” and “recording the difficulties in dealing with nuclear disasters” were uncommon themes. The findings confirmed that even in Fukushima Prefecture, in which the nuclear disaster occurred, participants did not talk about their concerns regarding radiation exposure while working at welfare evacuation shelters where people with special requirements were evacuated, and that they were expected to respond in the same way as they would in natural disasters. However, participants reported several difficulties relating to nuclear disasters that should be considered in future disaster support.