One of the most important professional groups involved in disaster processes is health professionals. Among health professionals, nurses are the most effective group in terms of number and quality. For this reason, nurses in our country are supported with various training programs in the stages of treatment, care and risk management for disaster victims. Hospitals develop guidelines to organize health professionals in disasters within the scope of Hospital Disaster Plan.  In the hospital disaster training plan, it is clearly stated how the approach to disaster survivors should be. However, due to factors such as the fact that the disaster management processes of specific and vulnerable populations may differ, the management of these groups (newborns, infants, children, etc.) is not sufficiently addressed within the scope of the Hospital Disaster Plan, and the lack of training on the approach to the general disaster victim population during the undergraduate education of nurses, graduated nurses may encounter various problems in the stages of care approach to newborns in disasters. The aim of this study is to teach the knowledge and skills of evaluation of newborns during the disaster, determination of their basic needs, transportation to the hospital, intervention during transportation and determination of the health problems of newborns in the neonatal intensive care unit (NICU) process, planning and implementing nursing care for the problems.

The aim of the course was to provide adequate and effective knowledge and skills in the evaluation of newborns whose growth and development were incomplete and whose defense systems were not developed during the disaster, determination of their basic needs, transportation to the hospital, intervention during transportation and determination of the health problems of newborns in the neonatal intensive care unit (NICU) process, planning and implementing nursing care for the problems, and gaining a professional perspective on the management of newborns and their parents in disasters.

The course was primarily conducted face-to-face with 4th year nursing students who were studying in 11 provinces in the region affected by the earthquake centered in Kahramanmaraş on February 6, 2023 and who would apply for the course. “Neonatal Intensive Care Nursing Course in Disaster Situation” was realized with face-to-face trainings given by faculty members who are experts in their fields. The prepared training program consisted of 16 sessions over a total of two days, each of which consisted of 8 daily lessons (each lasting 45 minutes).