Hindering Factors of Nurses' Calm in Crisis: A Qualitative Study

In the occurrence of natural or man-made crises, the productivity of human forces in crisis management, especially nurses, have enormous importance because saving the lives of nurses is crucial for continued relief and rescue and the correct activities make operations of relief, rescue, and healing successfully. Keeping nurses calm in a crisis guarantees the health and productivity of human resources. The current study was done to determine the hindering factors of nurseschr('39') calm in a crisis.

This qualitative study was conducted from November 2019-February 2020 in Tehran, Iran. Interviews were recorded from 15 expert nurses in the trauma ward of Baqiyatallah hospital and 15 experienced nurses in the National Medical Emergency Organization. Using the three-pronged analysis model of organizational pathology (structural, contextual, content factors) and interviewing experts, the factors that inhibit nurseschr('39') calm in critical situations were identified. Finally, prioritization of the hindering factors of nurseschr('39') calm in crisis was performed by Friedman test and corrective measures related to these factors were examined.

Three main themes were identified as the hindering factors of nurseschr('39') calm in a crisis. These three main themes include factors that lead to emotional turmoil, cognitive confusion, and behavioral perturbation. The sub-categories of each of the three themes include structural, contextual, and content factors. Infection of nurses with viral, chemical and microbial agents, inconsistencies between managers and agencies in charge of crisis management, unfamiliarity with crisis management, problems in the quantity and quality of equipment and medicine, and problems with hospital structures are identified as the most important factors hindering nurseschr('39') calm in a crisis.

Numerous structural, contextual, and content factors have caused nurses to be disrupted in crisis, which can be greatly reduced by the correct implementation of instructions related to crisis management and empowerment and development of nurseschr('39') competencies.