2022 Volume 27 Issue 1 Pages 4-12
【Background】
The Disaster Medical Assistance Team (DMAT) was established in 2005; however, there has never been a recording and analysis system to assess on-site nursing care.
【Purpose】
To clarify the care needs of victims during acute and sub-acute phase disaster response using a nursing diagnosis.
【Method】
We used a structured questionnaire targeting DMAT nurses who were dispatched for medical assistance to the Great East Japan Earthquake (GEJE) and/or Kumamoto Earthquake. The questionnaire was based on the nursing diagnosis guidelines established by the North American Nursing Diagnosis Association International (NANDA-I).
【Result】
Of the 355 responses, 110 were assumed to be valid nursing diagnoses. Two hundred and eighteen case reports, which were nurses’ evaluation of the victims’ needs, were reported through the 110 responses to the questionnaire. Cases of “ineffective health maintenance” (n=29) and “ineffective self-health management” (n=23) were observed to be more frequent than other diagnoses. Whereas these nursing diagnoses belonged to the domain of health promotion, 155 of 218 cases were related to the disaster.
【Discussion】
Questionnaire responses indicated that “ineffective health maintenance” was the most frequent nursing diagnosis even when different types and scales of disasters were considered. This suggests that many people were likely to be related to the “health promotion” domain even before they are affected by earthquakes due to the aging of Japanese society, where over 21% of the population are aged 65 years or more. The earthquakes led to a discontinuation in social welfare services, which highlighted the vulnerability of at-risk populations due to ineffective health promotion.
【Conclusion】
Our study results suggest that nursing diagnoses could be used as a recording and analysis system tool for on-site nursing care. The DMAT should be trained to help address gaps in health promotion.
