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Effectiveness of Disaster Nursing Education Programs: A Meta-Analysis Focused on Knowledge, Attitude, and Skill Domains

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  25 September 2025

Hwa Sun Kim*
Affiliation:
Department of Nursing, Gimcheon University , Gimcheon, Republic of Korea
*
Corresponding author: Hwa Sun Kim; Email: hskim@gimcheon.ac.kr
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Abstract

Objective

Disaster preparedness is a critical component of nursing education as nurses are expected to respond effectively to public health emergencies. Various disaster nursing education programs have been developed globally, but their effectiveness across cognitive, affective, and psychomotor domains remains unclear. This meta-analysis evaluated the overall impact of these programs across learning domains.

Methods

Eleven experimental or quasi-experimental studies involving nursing students and nurses were included. The pooled effect size was calculated using Hedges’ g. Heterogeneity was assessed using Cochran’s Q and the I2 statistic. Subgroup analyses were conducted by learning domain. Publication bias was assessed via a funnel plot.

Results

The overall effect size was large (Hedges’ g = 1.80, 95% CI: 1.491-2.399, P < .001). Heterogeneity was high (Q = 377.91, P < .001, I2 = 97.4%). The affective domain showed the strongest effect (g = 2.96), followed by psychomotor (g = 1.98) and cognitive (g = 0.66). The funnel plot showed minimal publication bias.

Conclusions

Disaster nursing education programs significantly improve learning outcomes across domains, especially in attitudes and practical skills. These findings support the need for integrated curricula in nursing education.

Information

Type
Original Research
Copyright
© The Author(s), 2025. Published by Cambridge University Press on behalf of Society for Disaster Medicine and Public Health, Inc
Figure 0

Table 1.Characteristics of included studies

Figure 1

Figure 1.PRISMA flow diagram for study selection process.

Figure 2

Figure 2.Forest plot of the effect sizes of included studies.

Figure 3

Table 2.Subgroup meta-analysis by learning domain

Figure 4

Figure 3.Funnel plot of publication bias using effect size (Hedges’ g) and standard error.