“Existing Disaster Preparedness and Effectiveness of a Disaster Training Module on Knowledge, Perceived Readiness, and Competence Among Nursing Personnel in Primary and Community Health Centres: A Pilot Quasi-Experimental Study”

Chithra CK; Juliet Sylvia

doi:10.36948/ijfmr.2026.v08i05.89700

“Existing Disaster Preparedness and Effectiveness of a Disaster Training Module on Knowledge, Perceived Readiness, and Competence Among Nursing Personnel in Primary and Community Health Centres: A Pilot Quasi-Experimental Study”

Author(s)	Ms. Chithra CK, Prof. Dr. Juliet Sylvia
Country	India
Abstract	Background Primary and Community Health Centres (PHCs and CHCs) form the foundational layer of public-health delivery and frequently serve as frontline response points during disasters. Nursing personnel represent the core workforce responsible for triage, emergency stabilization, and community support. However, structured disaster management training remains limited in primary care settings. Objective To evaluate the feasibility of study procedures and assess the preliminary effectiveness of a structured disaster training module on knowledge, perceived readiness, and competence among nursing personnel in selected health centres in Kollam district, Kerala. Methods A non-equivalent control-group pretest–posttest quasi-experimental design was adopted. Thirty nursing officers were recruited via convenience sampling from one selected taluk, with health-centre clusters allocated to either an Intervention group (n = 16) or a Control group (n = 15 valid participants after data screening). The Intervention group received a 90-minute structured training module ("All-hazard disaster casualty management: a preparedness module for primary care nurses") comprising theoretical foundations, clinical protocols, paper-based triage drills, and tabletop simulations. The Control group received routine facility orientation. Data were collected using a demographic sheet, a 25-item knowledge questionnaire, a 20-item readiness scale, and a 27-item competence scale, and were analyzed using descriptive and inferential statistics (independent t tests, Mann–Whitney U tests, and Chi-square tests). Results At baseline, participants exhibited moderate levels of knowledge, readiness, and competence. Following the intervention, the Intervention group demonstrated statistically significant and practically large immediate gains compared to the Control group across all three domains: knowledge gain (5.19$vs.0.71, t = -5.97, p < 0.001, Cohen's d = 2.19), competence gain (16.13 vs. 0.71, Welch t = -7.69, p < 0.001, Cohen's d = 2.66), and readiness gain (13.94 vs. 0.64, Welch t = -6.06, p < 0.001, Cohen's d = 2.07). Demographic variables showed no significant associations with baseline or post-test outcomes in this small pilot sample. Conclusion The structured training module demonstrated high feasibility and significant immediate effectiveness in enhancing disaster-related knowledge, readiness, and competence among primary-care nurses, supporting progression to the full-scale main study.
Keywords	Disaster Preparedness, Nurses, Knowledge, competence, readiness, training module
Field	Medical / Pharmacy
Published In	Volume 8, Issue 5, September-October 2026
Published On	2026-10-21
DOI	https://doi.org/10.36948/ijfmr.2026.v08i05.89700

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“Existing Disaster Preparedness and Effectiveness of a Disaster Training Module on Knowledge, Perceived Readiness, and Competence Among Nursing Personnel in Primary and Community Health Centres: A Pilot Quasi-Experimental Study”

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