Paper Title
Preparedness Of Primary Health Care Nurses For Disaster Management In Bahrain

Abstract
This study discusses the preparedness of the primary health care nurse�s in terms of their knowledge, skills and the efficiency of their response during disasters in the kingdom of Bahrain. This descriptive correlation study used a self-determination questionnaire to assess the disaster preparedness among nurses; sample of 150 nurses selected from primary health care center of type A setting as further reasoned in this paper to be the selection criteria. The data are analyzed using statistical package (SPSS, 2011) to describe the relationship between the study variables. One hundred and ten (110) participants completed the survey with a responding rate of 73.3%. The research finding indicated that most of the nurses responded (55.3%) reported low level of familiarity with disaster preparedness, and (38.3%) are familiar, while the remaining (6.3%) are strongly familiar. Fifty per cent of the participant are not prepared or did not attend any formal disaster education programs, and (46.3%) were not involved in any disaster mitigation drill during their work experience. The study further elaborates on the importance of properly inducting and preparing nurses and the overall primary health care centers and how to increases their preparedness for disasters. A summary of recommendations is also raised to the higher authorities in the ministry of health in Bahrain which include the need for collaboration with world health organization for a disaster preparedness program to prepare the primary health care nurses to manage real disaster effectively. Keywords- Nurse�s Preparedness, Disaster, Management, Knowledge And Skills