Professional competences of emergency department nurses working in the earthquake region on triage management in children and the difficulties experienced by nurses in the decision-making process: A qualitative study

Limited resources in disasters may negatively affect the care of paediatric patients and cause complications to be prevented. The aim of this study was to investigate the professional competence of nurses regarding triage management in children during the Kahramanmaraş earthquake and the difficulties they experienced in the decision-making process. This study used a qualitative exploratory research design with a phenomenological approach. In-depth interviews were conducted with the participants individually and through focus group discussions using a semi-structured interview form. A total of 23 participants working in the emergency department during and after the earthquake were included in this study, which was conducted using a purposive sampling technique. Data were analyzed using content analysis procedures. Max Qualitative Data Analysis (2020) programme was used to code the data. As a result of data analysis, 4 main themes and 15 sub-themes emerged. The four main themes were “Professional Competencies of Nurses During Disasters,” “Triage Decision in the Emergency Department,” “Expectations of Nurses Working in a Disaster Area” and “Participation in Disaster Education”. The results of this study showed that nurses are exposed to difficulties arising from many individuals, psychological, professional, environmental, and educational variables in the early period of disaster. Participants' views revealed a strong relationship between being professionally competent, providing appropriate care to patients and emotional exhaustion.