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Objective: The disaster preparedness of nurses is important as nurses are members of a health care team that needs to work systematically and collaboratively in all conditions. Although education and training naturally underpin effective practice, disaster nursing education is rarely provided to nurses in Iran. Because disaster situations, by definition, overwhelm health services, it is likely that nursing students will be required to join their colleagues in the response. The purpose of this study was to evaluate the competency of nursing students to attend disaster situations. Methods: This descriptive, analytical study was conducted in western Iran in 2020. A total of 70 nursing students in the fourth (final) year of their undergraduate nursing education entered the study by a census sampling method. Data collection was undertaken using a validated disaster competency assessment questionnaire. The data were analyzed using SPSS version 21 (IBM Corp, Armonk, NY) with descriptive and analytic tests. Results: The mean age of participants was 21.4 ± 2.14 and 57.1% of them were women; 45 participants (64.3%) had received no disaster-related training, and 88.6% had no history of participating in disaster exercises. The total score for nursing students' competence was 125.58 ± 14.19. There was a significant relationship between the mean score of nursing competence in response to disasters and student history of participating in an exercise and training course (P < 0.001). Conclusion: Students' competence in disaster situations is poor. Awareness of the competence condition of nurses is the first step to improve their preparedness as the most key members of the disaster health team. Conducting disaster-related training may be appropriate. The results of this study can provide evidence for the development of educational policies in disaster nursing education. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: In today's world as the globe of organizations, employees tend to show endeavor and more involvement in organizational goals and mission by creating workplace spirituality. Aim: The present study aimed to investigate the role of workplace spirituality in improving hospital social worker's motivation. Methods: The study employed a cross-sectional design and was conducted in 19 private and governmental hospitals in Karaj city, Alborz province, north Iran in 2019. The statistical population included all 302 hospital social workers who were selected as the sample population according to Cochran's formula. Using two standard questionnaires of workplace spirituality and employee motivation, we assessed the role of workplace spirituality in improving the hospital' social workers' motivation. Results: According to research findings, there were significant relationships between workplace spirituality, meaningful working, sense of community, forgiveness, and honesty with hospital social workers motivation p ⩽.05. There was a significant difference between age group, gender, level of education and workplace spirituality, and motivation of hospital social workers p ⩽.05. Conclusion: Findings suggest that health planners and authorities may need to examine factors that contribute to the promotion of workplace spirituality to increase the motivation of hospital social workers for improved performance of health organizations. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Medical personnel such as those working in emergency medical systems are in direct contact with the patient or the injured and are exposed to workplace violence. This study aimed to determine workplace violence against prehospital paramedical personnel and factors related to this type of violence in Iran. The cross-sectional study was conducted in 72 prehospital emergency centers affiliated with Kerman University of Medical Sciences in 2019. Using a researcher-made questionnaire, we assessed workplace violence and factors associated with this type of violence in prehospital paramedical personnel with a census method (N = 308). Data were analyzed using descriptive statistics including mean and standard deviation (SD), frequency, percentage, and analytic statistics, such as the Kolmogorov–Smirnov, ANOVA, t test, and multiple linear regression tests. The results of this study showed that the most frequent types of workplace violence were verbal violence (47%), physical violence (32.50%), cultural violence (16%), and no violence (4.50%), respectively. From the perspective of paramedical personnel, the total mean score of workplace violence was at a moderate level (52.19 ± 10.72). The most important factors affecting workplace violence from the perspective of paramedical personnel were "lack of awareness of people about the duties of emergency medical personnel" and "lack of specialists in prehospital (city or road) bases." Majority of the paramedical personnel believed that "no reaction and observance of patients and their families' rights" were the most important types of reactions. They also believed that violence was normal at the workplace and should not be considered in emergency medical services. Results suggest that national and local policies in Iran should provide prehospital paramedical personnel with various training courses about how to decrease the rate of workplace violence, promote public health, and decrease their psychological stresses and occupational burnout. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The present study aims to examine the relationship between the quality of working life and organizational commitment of prehospital paramedic personnel in Emergency Medical Systems affiliated to the Kerman University of Medical Sciences, Iran during the COVID-19 pandemic. A cross-sectional study was conducted in 2020, in 12 emergency bases supervised by Kerman University of Medical Sciences and 200 participants were randomly selected according to the table of Morgan. Meyer and Allen's organizational commitment questionnaires and Bolton's quality of working life questionnaire were used in the study. Normative commitment component among other organizational commitment components had the highest mean score, 3.51 ± 1.06 and emotional commitment component had the lowest average, 3.31 ± 0.83. Among the factors of working life quality, the skill development opportunities and continuous learning had the highest mean score, 3.37 ± 0.87 and the wage and material benefits component had the lowest average, 1.65 ± 1.08. There was a significant relationship between the organizational commitment and quality of working life P = 0.01, r = 0.45. According to the results of the present research, to increase the quality of working life and organizational commitment of Emergency Medical personnel, more emphasis should be placed on the employee participation in terms of decision-making, skill development opportunities, continuous learning and job security. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objectives: Implementing disaster exercises in different parts of the health system is one of the important steps in providing and developing disaster risk management plans. Considering the importance of promoting health system preparedness through exercise, the present study aimed to identify and explain necessary and original components for successful implementation of preparedness exercises of the health-care system in disaster. Methods: The study was a qualitative content analysis. Data were collected by purposeful sampling through in-depth and semi-structured individual interviews with 25 health professionals in disaster. Directed content analysis was used to analyze the data, which extracted the initial codes after performing the recorded interviews on paper and immersing them in the data analysis. Results: The data analysis resulted in the production of 100 initial codes, 14 subcategories, 6 main categories of "coordination and information management," "standards and indicators," "conduction and control of the process," "logistic management and supplies," "management of treatment operation," and "management of health operation," under the original theme of "implementation of exercise." Conclusions: The findings of this study can greatly increase the attention of senior managers to preparedness in all areas of the health system, especially managers of prehospitals and hospitals who are the forefront of the response to the disaster. The findings of this study can be considered as a guideline for the implementation of principle and standardized health system preparedness exercises. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]