2025 Volume 12 Issue 1 Pages 135-139
Aim: In 2019, the International Council of Nurses (ICN) published a revised version of the Core Competencies in Disaster Nursing, followed in 2022 by a supplement for nurses in Medical Emergency Teams. Both publications received a great deal of international attention but were hardly noticed in German-speaking countries. The aim of this project was to support the dissemination and application of this competence framework by developing a translated and culturally adapted German version.
Methods: A multistage, consensus-based translation and cultural adaptation process was carried out together with the nursing associations in Austria, Germany and Switzerland, followed by open access publication and systematic dissemination.
Results: After the ICN gave its approval, the competency framework was translated and culturally adapted, considering the various professional laws for nurses, health and disaster management systems of the participating countries and linguistic and cultural specificities. After completion and approval by all partners involved, dissemination began. The German version of the ICN Core Competencies in Disaster Nursing (2019/2022) was published online (2024) and sent directly to renowned nurse educators and decision makers, followed by cross-national webinars for the professional public.
Conclusions: These activities are expected to ensure that the ICN Core Competencies are recognized and implemented in vocational and undergraduate education to help the nurse workforce in the German-speaking countries to be better prepared for future disasters. In addition, they can serve as a basis for research activities in implementation and educational research, for curriculum development or for the development of culturally adapted assessment tools.
