Abstract
CONTEXT: Nurses are the largest group of health service providers with a vital role in assisting victims during disasters. They must be therefore appropriately prepared to respond to health requirements in these situations. EVIDENCE ACQUISITION: Three articles were ultimately extracted from a comprehensive search conducted in the present systematic review and meta-analysis in Google Scholar, SID, Magiran, Scopus, PubMed and Web of Science using English keywords and their Persian equivalents. The I(2) index was used to evaluate the heterogeneity between the studies, and the analyses were performed in STATA 14. RESULTS: This review was conducted on 586 nurses working in hospitals. The final meta-analysis included three articles. The matched mean scores of knowledge, attitude and performance concerning disaster preparedness were respectively found to be 43.49 (95% CI: 37.67-49.31, P=0.581, I(2)=0.0%), 68.81 (95% CI: 63.04-70.58, p=0.913, I(2)=0.0%) and 56.19 (95% CI: 53.95-58.42, P=0.001, I(2)=86.2%). CONCLUSION: The present findings suggested moderate levels of knowledge and performance and good attitudes associated with preparedness in disasters in the Iranian nurses. These parameters can be therefore improved to desirable levels and the overall preparedness for coping with disasters boosted in nurses by training nurses and performing hospital drills.