Empowering future nurses: a comparative study of nursing students' disaster literacy and response self-efficacy in Türkiye and Iran.

Background: As disasters become more frequent and severe, their impact on global health systems grows, highlighting the critical need for disaster preparedness in nursing education. As future healthcare providers, nursing students must be equipped with the knowledge and skills to anticipate, respond to, and mitigate the effects of disasters. This study evaluates and compares the disaster literacy and disaster response self-efficacy levels of nursing students in Türkiye and Iran, emphasizing the role of nursing education in strengthening global disaster resilience.

Methods: Conducted from January to June 2024, this descriptive, correlational, and comparative study involved third and final-year undergraduate nursing students in Samsun and Istanbul provinces of Türkiye and in Kerman and Jiroft provinces of Iran. The study encompassed a population of 811 students, from which a sample of 508 participants was drawn using the convenience sampling method, comprising 288 students from Türkiye and 220 from Iran. Data collection was conducted through a face-to-face questionnaire, incorporating the Descriptive Information Form and validated, reliable scales: the Disaster Literacy Scale and the Disaster Response Self-Efficacy Scale. The data were analyzed using IBM SPSS Statistics 25.0, employing descriptive statistics, t-tests, Pearson correlation, and linear regression, with significance set at p < 0.05.

Results: Linear regression analysis utilizing dummy variables revealed that students in Türkiye exhibited higher disaster literacy than their counterparts in Iran (β = 6.720), with the country of study explaining 22.9% of the variance in disaster literacy scores. Similarly, Turkish students demonstrated greater disaster response self-efficacy (β = 3.945), with 1.9% of its variance attributable to the country of study. A statistically significant, medium, and positive correlation was identified between disaster literacy and disaster response self-efficacy for students in both countries (r = 0.470, p = 0.000 for Türkiye; r = 0.491, p = 0.000 for Iran). Furthermore, regression analysis indicated that nursing students' disaster literacy significantly predicted disaster response self-efficacy (β = 1.030, p < 0.001 for Türkiye; β = 1.074, p < 0.001 for Iran).

Conclusion: The findings show that disaster literacy and disaster response self-efficacy perceptions among nursing students in both countries are moderate, requiring improvement. Disaster literacy significantly and positively influenced disaster response self-efficacy. This study highlights the importance of disaster literacy in shaping students' confidence and competence in disaster response. Disaster preparedness courses should be integrated into nursing programs. Addressing identified gaps and implementing targeted educational strategies can enhance nursing students' disaster preparedness and improve response outcomes. Future research should investigate the factors behind the differences in disaster literacy and self-efficacy across countries. Collaboration between nurse educators and policymakers should be encouraged.

Clinical trial number: Not applicable.