Experiences of district nurses working during the September and February 2010 - 2011 earthquakes in Christchurch, New Zealand

BACKGROUND New Zealand is geologically one of the most active countries in the world and on 4 September 2010 at 4.35am local time, Christchurch in New Zealand’s South Island experienced a 7.1 magnitude earthquake. A second earthquake of 6.3 magnitude struck on 22 February 2011 at 12:51pm local time. Although the first earthquake rated higher on the Richter scale, it was this second earthquake that left devastating effects for many living in the region. Many of the people in Christchurch were receiving nursing care in their homes. This care was provided by district nurses, who were themselves potentially affected by the earthquakes, but continued to provide comfort in extraordinary circumstances. Personal accounts of the district nurses were sought to give further insight into earthquake nursing in the community setting. AIM The aim of this study was to explore the experiences of district nurses who worked during the September 2010 and February 2011 Christchurch earthquakes. There is limited research on earthquake disaster nursing in the community and this study aimed to address this and to inform practice. METHODOLOGY This study used a qualitative descriptive exploratory design. Data were collected through individual semi-structured interviews and a focus group. Individual interviews were reflected on and then constructed into narratives in a process informed by narrative inquiry. A thematic analysis of the individual interviews and focus group was undertaken which allowed for the identification of prominent themes. Ethics approval was granted from the Eastern Institute of Technology, Research Ethics and Approvals Committee. RESULT Six main themes emerged from the individual interviews namely, challenges, professional boundaries and power of the uniform, learnt experiences, elderly and young patient care, communication and creative solutions. Recommendations from the participants to other nurses was explored in more depth in the focus group, as this was seen as potentially important information that could inform current practice. CONCLUSION These results were particularly important as there were no other New Zealand or worldwide studies that examined the experiences post-earthquake for district nurses. This study synthesised previous literature of nurses’ earthquakes experiences which highlighted that further knowledge was required to understand this area of practice in the district nursing setting. During a disaster, it became clear that policies and procedures were not always adhered to or practical. District nurses used their skills and sound judgement to continue to provide quality care faced with an unusual and stressful situation.

Name thesis:degree_name

Master of Nursing

Level thesis:degree_level

Masters

Grantor

Eastern Institute of Technology

Year dc:date.issued

2017

Author dc:creator

• Rietveld, Saskia

• Christchurch (N.Z.)
• New Zealand
• district nurses
• earthquakes
• disaster nursing
• community nursing

Statement dc:rights

• All rights reserved

Language dc:language.iso

en

Handle dc:identifier.uri

https://hdl.handle.net/10652/6315

OAI identifier oai:identifier

oai:null:10652/6315