Being Both an Earthquake Survivor and a Nurse: Türkiye's Twin Earthquakes.

Abstract

Background: In February 2023, twin earthquakes struck 11 provinces in Türkiye, devastating infrastructure and healthcare services. Nurses, as both survivors and frontline responders, faced extreme physical, emotional, and organizational challenges. Their experiences offer critical insights into disaster-related occupational risks and the structural gaps in worker health and safety. This study aims to explore the experiences of nurses working in hospitals affected by the twin earthquakes in Türkiye in 2023.

Methods: A qualitative, descriptive research design was used. Study participants were selected using purposeful sampling among nurses who experienced the earthquakes and continued working in the affected areas. In-depth online interviews were conducted with 17 nurses, achieving data saturation. The data were analyzed using content analysis, and the COREQ checklist was followed for study reporting.

Results: As a result of the analysis, four themes were revealed; (1) earthquake shock, (2) working conditions, (3) living conditions, and (4) family and psychosocial situation. Nurses reported overwhelming psychological strain, unsafe working environments, lack of disaster plans, inadequate managerial support, and severe resource shortages-all of which posed significant threats to worker health and safety.Conclusions/Applications to Practice:This study highlights how nurses' dual roles as victims and caregivers during a large-scale disaster exposed critical vulnerabilities in worker health and safety. The findings underline the urgency of disaster-specific worker health and safety strategies, including trauma-informed mental health care, rapid staff support systems, and safety-oriented organizational planning to protect frontline healthcare workers in emergencies.