What are the most common domains of the core competencies of disaster nursing? A scoping review

- A total of 12 articles were included.
- The number of domains varied across all of the selected studies.
- This scoping review indicates that communication and ICS are essential domains.
- Disaster planning is one of the most important core competencies for nurses.
- Another of the important domains are decontamination and ethics.

AimScoping review was conducted to identify the most common domains of the core competencies of disaster nursing.BackgroundNurses play an essential role in all phases of disaster management. For nurses to respond competently, they must be equipped with the skills to provide comprehensive and holistic care to the populations affected by or at risk of disasters.MethodsA scoping review was conducted using the Joanna Briggs Institute methodology. The review used information from six databases: the Cumulative Index to Nursing and Allied Health Literature, Ovid MEDLINE, ScienceDirect, ProQuest, Scopus and the Education Resources Information Center. Keywords and inclusion and exclusion criteria were identified as strategies to use in this review.ResultsTwelve studies were eligible for result extraction, as they listed domains of the core competencies. These domains varied among studies. However, the most common domains were related to communication, planning, decontamination and safety, the Incident Command System and ethics.ConclusionKnowledge of the domains of the core competencies, such as understanding the content and location of the disaster plan, communication during disaster and ethical issues is fundamental for nurses. Including these domains in the planning and provision of training for nurses, such as disaster drills, will strengthen their preparedness to respond competently to disaster cases. Nurses must be involved in future research in this area to explore and describe their fundamental competencies in each domain.