The Level of Trauma and Hopelessness of Survivor Nursing Students of the February 6, 2023, Kahramanmaraş Earthquakes: The Case of Türkiye.

Objectives: To assess the post-earthquake trauma and hopelessness levels of nursing students due to the earthquakes that occurred on February 6, 2023.

Methods: This study was conducted between April and May 2023 in the Nursing Department in a province located in Southeastern Türkiye using the face-to-face interview technique. The study was completed with 276 students in line with the power analysis. The data were collected using a questionnaire, the Scale that Determines the Level of Post-Earthquake Trauma (SDLPET), and the Beck Hopelessness Scale (BHS).

Results: The mean SDLPET and BHS scores of the students were 55.45±13.58 and 9.38±4.53, respectively. Some 12.3% of the nursing students lost their friends due to the earthquake, 80.4% did not receive any earthquake training, 46% needed psychological support, 48.6% needed financial support, 49.6% needed social support, 37% had sleep problems, 72.8% experienced hopelessness, and the quality of life of 67.8% of the students was negatively affected due to the hopelessness they experienced.

Conclusions: It was found that the level of post-earthquake trauma and hopelessness of the students was moderate, and a positive and significant correlation was found between trauma and hopelessness scores.