Emergency preparedness among nurses at Machakos level five hospital in Machakos County, Kenya

Abstract

The approach to handling emergencies has not been efficient in the practice area, which could be due to deficient knowledge or lack of competence by the responders. This therefore leads to an increase in mortality, morbidity, and calls for sufficient readiness by nurses to prevent against future events. The study aimed at assessing whether nurses at Machakos Level 5 Hospital (ML5H) were prepared for emergencies. The study also looked in to strategies that ML5H has put in place to prepare nurses for emergencies. This was a quantitative study using a cross- sectional descriptive design. The study involved 132 nurses sampled from 405 the total population of nurses at ML5H. Selection of participants was done using stratified random sampling coupled with systematic random sampling methods. Self -administered questionnaires were used to collect data and an observation checklist that measured on emergency preparedness. Data was coded and entered into SPSS version 25 software for analysis. Data was analysed using descriptive statistics and Chi-square test was used to determine if it showed a significant relationship between variables. Majority (82%) of nurses dismissed the likelihood of natural disasters occurring at the hospital. More than a half (56%) of the nurses were found to have adequate knowledge on emergency preparedness; More than three quarters (76.5%) of respondents reported that the hospital did not carry out emergency drills. More than half (62%) of respondents reported of the availability of emergency training for all nurses. Knowledge and training, familiarity with procedures during emergencies, and familiarity with contents of emergency management plan significantly affected emergency preparedness at P=< 0.05. The study recommended that, the hospital should conduct regular trainings of nurses on emergency preparedness to enable them respond to emergencies effectively and efficiently.