A Nurse-Led Home Disaster Preparedness Intervention for New Parents

Purpose: To evaluate the effectiveness of a nurse-led intervention on the household emergency preparedness (HEP) level of parents with newborns and describe the nurses' perceived facilitators/barriers to providing this intervention. Design: A non-randomized, non-blinded, quasi-experimental pilot study conducted with maternal/child nurses and neonatal parents. The intervention used an educational booklet on what is needed to prepare for disasters and how to develop evacuation and communication plans. Parents completed booklets during their infant's hospital stay, after which they received a free disaster kit from the nurses. Sample: 68 parents, 13 maternal/child nurses. Main Outcome Variable: Level of HEP. Results: HEP scores increased from 4.75 to 10.66 out of 11 from pre- to post-intervention (p < .001). Barriers to implementing this intervention included the weight of the disaster kit, parent anxiety, and need for follow-up with parents. Facilitators included the booklet, disaster kit, and speed/cost of the intervention.