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. 2024 Sep 29;72(1):e13042. doi: 10.1111/inr.13042

A qualitative study on Turkey's earthquakes, the century's catastrophe: Perspectives and coping methods of surviving nursing students

Ebru Sönmez Sari 1,✉, Handan Terzi 2
PMCID: PMC11741913  PMID: 39344169

Abstract

Aim

To understand the experiences and coping strategies of nursing students who were impacted by Turkey's once‐in‐a‐century catastrophic earthquakes in 2023.

Background

Nursing students rarely experience a disaster in person, and their imagination can be limited.

Methods

This study used a descriptive‐qualitative study design. It was conducted with 17 first‐year nursing students, studying at a university in the northeastern part of Turkey, who survived the earthquake. A personal information form and a semistructured questionnaire were used to collect the data. The data were collected between March and April 2023 and analyzed using the content analysis method and the MaXQDA programme.

Results

The data were grouped into three main themes—“What ‘earthquake’ was and what it is now?,” “Am I aware of the ‘earthquake’ now?,” and “Coping mechanisms and supporting systems”—and categorized into seven subthemes.

Conclusions

The experiences of earthquake‐affected nursing students emphasized the importance of being prepared for disasters and meeting their emotional needs.

Implications for nursing practice and policies

Including specific courses and case studies regarding disasters, whether natural or human‐made, in education programs can ensure better prepared nurses. Also, the integration of content about management and coping with such crises into nursing curricula is considered vital.

Keywords: Disasters, earthquakes, nursing, nursing education, qualitative research

INTRODUCTION

Natural disasters are major public health problems worldwide and can severely affect many people, interrupt and even upend healthcare systems, harm cultural heritage, destroy the environment and other beings, and cause source shortages of infrastructure (Ayaz‐Alkaya & Terzi, 2023; Kalanlar, 2021; United Nations, 2015). Earthquakes have posed severe challenges across the globe, including in Turkey. On February 6, 2023, two major earthquakes occurred in the southern part of Turkey, which affected 11 cities with millions of individuals (both physically and mentally) and resulted in as many as 60 000 deaths (Center for Disaster Philanthropy, 2024). In countries like Turkey in earthquake zones, strategies should be developed and supported by governmental policies to minimize the destructive and life‐threatening effects of earthquakes. When the complexity of a disaster is considered, disaster management is an essential skill for healthcare teams (Pourvakhshoori et al., 2017). Therefore, well‐informed, psychologically prepared, and highly aware healthcare professionals are needed to act in immediate disaster response (Kiliç Bayageldi & Kaloğlu Binici, 2024; Pourvakhshoori et al., 2017; Said et al., 2022).

As the largest body of healthcare providers in worldwide healthcare systems, the competency of nurses in a disaster is crucial (Ayaz‐Alkaya & Terzi, 2023). Nurses can act as leaders at any stage of a disaster. Thus, they can prevent losses and protect community health. They should be able to perform a detailed risk assessment, so that they can build a multidisciplinary approach to disaster prevention and preparedness activities (Ayaz‐Alkaya & Terzi, 2023; Pourvakhshoori et al., 2017; United Nations, 2015). In this context, nurses’ self‐preparedness also becomes crucial to saving their own lives along with the individuals and/or communities (Abou Hashish & Banoona, 2023; Kiliç Bayageldi & Kaloğlu Binici, 2024; Soltani Goki et al., 2023). An intention‐focused and measurable disaster response necessitates highly knowledgeable yet safe nurses. Therefore, disaster preparedness, awareness, and management skills should be provided while they are engaged in nursing education (Cruz et al., 2022; Kim & Lee, 2020; Mohamed et al., 2023).

Nursing students are well poised to gain appropriate knowledge, attitude, and skills regarding disaster preparedness and management (Abou Hashish & Banoona, 2023; Cruz et al., 2022; Kaviani et al., 2022). The literature asserts that the more prepared nursing students feel about disasters, the greater their disaster‐related self‐efficacy will be (Hasan et al., 2024). A study based in Turkey had similar findings. A disaster management program was found to enhance nursing students’ knowledge and preparedness levels (Kalanlar, 2018). In a Korean study, disaster education programming improved knowledge, disaster triage, and readiness levels of nursing students (Huh & Kang, 2019). Accordingly, emergency preparedness and disaster management topics have been recommended for integration into nursing curricula since 2008. Nursing students are advised to be disaster response–competent, and they are taught self‐prevention competencies in responding to disasters (American Association of Colleges of Nursing, 2008). Despite these recommendations, nursing students have been reported as unprepared for disasters as the rest of the community (Arslan et al., 2024; Longo, 2022). Kaviani et al. (2022) found that nursing students’ disaster competency levels were insufficient. In the same study, students who participated in a disaster management–related course were found to have higher competency levels (Kaviani et al., 2022). In another study, although they had higher levels of knowledge and preparedness, the practice levels of the nursing students were found to be inadequate (Mohamed et al., 2023). Nursing students are rarely known to personally experience a disaster, limiting their ability to imagine its impact (Kim & Lee, 2020).

Although higher level nursing students are known to be more confident in disaster responses and tend to join healthcare teams during and after a disaster (Hasan et al., 2024), when they face a disaster, their experiences are much like those of their junior colleagues (Arslan et al., 2024). In a study, nursing students of all academic levels were found to have experienced fear, shock, protective instinct toward their family members, disruptions of daily routine and habits such as sleeping, and the negative effects of winter homelessness during and after Turkey's 2023 earthquakes (Arslan et al., 2024). Sirin‐Gok et al. (2024) found that, compared with early and late nursing education cohorts, first‐year nursing students experienced the poorest mental health outcomes. Therefore, the determination of disaster‐related experiences and coping methods of the first‐year nursing students is needed to draw a relevant framework for self‐preparedness interventions. The data obtained by this study can contribute to the development of community mental health services by gaining insights into lived disaster experiences and coping methods used by nursing students exposed to the 2023 earthquakes in Turkey. Thus, much effort is needed to increase the awareness, knowledge, management, and coping skills to cultivate a qualified nursing workforce and ensure readiness and responsiveness to future disasters. This can result in positive health outcomes and help rehabilitate disaster‐related disabilities, thereby saving lives.

First‐year nursing students are inexperienced with the university environment and have hardly built sociocultural relationships at the beginning of their education (Sirin‐Gok et al., 2024); however, they are often more committed to the university compared with the higher level students (Middleton et al., 2021). Additionally, professional improvement among nursing students has been identified as beginning in the first semester of nursing education (Kruse et al., 2020). Therefore, their experiences and reactions regarding the disaster management process are thought to be different from those of the rest of the community. Therefore, studying the earthquake‐related experiences and coping mechanisms of first‐year students can proactively shed light on the effectiveness of nursing education.

This research was conducted to understand the experiences and coping strategies of nursing students, who were impacted by the catastrophic earthquakes of 2023 in Turkey.

METHODS

Study type

A descriptive‐qualitative study design was adopted. This method combines elements of different approaches and based on the general premises of the constructivist approach (Polit & Beck, 2018). This research followed the COREQ checklist for reporting data (Tong et al., 2007).

Participants

This study was conducted with first‐grade earthquake‐survivor nursing students of a university in the northeastern part of Turkey between March and April 2023. In the selected nursing department, first‐year nursing students given profession‐related courses, such as fundamentals of nursing, nursing process, interpersonal relationships for nurses, anatomy, physiology, occupational health and safety during the fall term. In the first term, care as a concept is taught thoroughly, and students’ fundamental skills are reinforced via laboratory practices. Turkey's earthquakes occurred when the students were on their semester holidays. Thus, even at the beginning of their nursing education period, the first‐year nursing students examined in the current study had the necessary awareness, to some extent, of health‐related topics.

Students who met the inclusion criteria were selected according to the maximum variation sampling method. In this method, the researcher aims to map the knowledge and attitudes of a certain group. This method guarantees that the variations in a target group been acquired (Green & Thorogood, 2018). As the earthquakes caused serious destruction in 11 cities and the extent of destruction and number of casualties in each province differed, this sampling method was adopted. The sample size was determined on the basis of the data saturation approach (Charmaz, 2006). Of the surviving first‐year nursing students who met the inclusion criteria, 28 were included in the study.

Inclusion criteria were as follows: (i) being a permanent resident of the province of Turkey's earthquakes, (ii) being personally exposed to the earthquakes that occurred and (iii) being willing to participate in the study.

Data collection tools

A personal information form and semistructured questionnaire were used to collect the data.

The personal information form comprised two parts, with seven questions prepared by the researchers. The first part comprised six close‐ended questions about sociodemographic features, including age, sex, place of residence, family income, pretraining before the earthquakes, and house damage in the earthquakes. The second part included one open‐ended metaphor question as “Earthquake like… Because…” to determine perceptions regarding the nursing students’ earthquake descriptions.

The semistructured questionnaire prepared by the researchers comprised six questions divided into three sections: introduction, interviewing, and conclusion (Supplementary Appendix). The introduction section included the interviewer's self‐introduction, the purpose and the rules of the interview, an explanation of the recording techniques, and the purpose of data collection. In the interview section, prompt questions such as “Can you explain more?” were asked to add depth to the interview.

The questionnaire was sent for peer review before conducting the research and was based on the recommendations. A pilot study was performed on three volunteer earthquake‐survivor nursing students, and the last version of the questionnaire was completed; the data of these students were excluded from the scope of the study.

Procedure

The interviews were conducted through Zoom. A mutual time was fixed by telephone. The interviews were recorded, and each interview lasted approximately 20 min. The interviews were terminated when the data saturation was reached (n = 17).

Data analysis

The data were analyzed using the content analysis method and MaXQDA software v10. Content analysis a methodical technique that uses data encoding and grouping to understand vast volumes of textual material (Kyngäs et al., 2020). Therefore, content analysis was performed systematically. The recordings were transcribed verbatim to the Microsoft Word program by the end of every interview. Each participant was given a nickname (e.g., P1, P2, and P3). The transcripts were coded independently by two researchers to ensure credibility and dependability. Finally, the researchers developed subthemes and themes by discussing each code and analyzing the relationships between them to reach a consensus.

Trustworthiness

Lincoln and Guba's criteria regarding internal validity (credibility), external validity (transferability), internal reliability (consistency), and external reliability (confirmability) were used to test the validity and reliability of the study (Kyngäs et al., 2020). To ensure credibility, data were collected by a female researcher from the university where the nursing students studied. The researcher spent time with the students during at least one academic semester, enhancing their interpersonal communication with them. Constructing transferability, the data were described thoroughly, and the maximum variation sampling method was used (Green & Thorogood, 2018; Kyngäs et al., 2020). Coding was performed according to Saldaña's principles (Saldaña, 2021). The data were coded thoroughly, each code was defined, the relationships between the codes were examined and subthemes, and themes were created (Saldaña, 2021). To ensure consistency, the interviews were conducted by the same researcher and recorded in the Zoom cloud. The data were analyzed independently by two researchers. For confirmability, data collection forms, videoconference recordings, obtained raw data, and coding data were preserved in a password‐protected file (Kyngäs et al., 2020).

Ethical considerations

Ethical approval from the university's ethics board (approval date/number: March 7, 2023/70‐3) and necessary written approval from the dean's office were obtained. Informed consent was obtained before data collection. Students were assured that voluntary or involuntary participation in the study did not affect their education process. This study conforms to the Declaration of Helsinki (2013).

RESULTS

Of the participants, one student stopped the interview and left the study because of emotional stress. As data saturation was ensured, the study was completed with 17 nursing students (n = 17).

Participant characteristics

The mean age of the students was 20.17 ± 0.95, and 10 were women. None of the participating nursing students underwent any education regarding earthquake protection (Table 1). The most frequently used metaphor to describe the earthquake was “apocalypse” (Table 2).

TABLE 1.

Sociodemographic characteristics of the survivor nursing students (n = 17).

Sociodemographic characteristics n %
Sex
Woman 10 58.8
Man 7 41.2
Family income
Less than expense 2 11.8
Equal to expense 12 70.6
More than expense 3 17.6
Place of residence
Urban 11 64.7
Rural 6 35.3
Pretraining before the earthquakes
Yes 0 0
No 17 100
House damaged in the earthquakes
Yes 13 76.5
No 4 23.5
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TABLE 2.

Metaphors regarding the “earthquake” of the survivor nursing students.

Participants Metaphors
P11 Earthquake is like an APOCALYPSE. Because it causes so many deaths.
P12 Earthquake is like an APOCALYPSE. Because you have nowhere to run, there is nothing you can do.
P15 Earthquake is like an APOCALYPSE. Because no one can think of anything at that moment.
P3 Earthquake is like an APOCALYPSE. Because many people die.
P10 Earthquake is like a DISASTER. Because it takes away our loved ones from us.
P4 Earthquake is like a DISASTER. Because it causes huge destructions.
P7 Earthquake is like an UNINVITED GUEST. Because it comes unexpectedly and catches the host unpreparedly.
P8 An earthquake is like a BALLOON. Because it scares when it explodes suddenly and powerfully.
P5 Earthquake is like a MONSTER. Because it is scary.
P9 Earthquake is like a FAREWELL. Because it separates everything from everyone else.
P17 Earthquake is like AZRAEL. Because it brings people face to face with death.
P1 Earthquake is like a ROTTEN BUILDING. Because you never know when it will collapse.
P6 Earthquake is like a WAR. Because it destroys homes and people's lives.
P14 Earthquake is like a BADLY RAISED PERSON. If the necessary precautions are not taken, it will cause great loses and damages.
P2 Earthquake is such a DESPERATION. Because there is nothing one can do when it strikes.
P13 Earthquake is like SOMETHING SPECIAL. Because it has unique means in everyone.
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Content analysis results

The data from the semistructured interviews were grouped into three main themes (Figure 1).

FIGURE 1.

FIGURE 1

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Themes and subthemes.

Theme 1: What “earthquake” was, and what it is now?

The first theme was categorized into three subthemes: (1.1) “earthquake” before the earthquakes, (1.2) “earthquake” during the earthquakes, and (1.3) “earthquake” after the earthquakes.

Subtheme 1.1: “Earthquake” before the earthquakes

Students expressed the “earthquake” as a natural disaster that was thought to be unlikely, practiced occasionally, and characterized by a temporary quake before being exposed to the earthquakes.

  • P1 : “…Since there have been no major earthquakes in the area where I live, the earthquakes do not pose a danger to me. …We had no idea about the possibility of witnessing an earthquake…”

  • P4 : “…I would have thought it was a normal natural happening because I have never witnessed in person what it can cause. …I had never experienced it before…”

  • P10 : “…Actually, “earthquake” had not meant anything to me. It was just a notion. …One can understand it only if has experience with it…”

Subtheme 1.2: “Earthquake” during the earthquakes

Most of the students expressed fear, panic, helplessness, and indeterminacy due to sleepiness and shock. Moreover, the students also stated that they figuratively felt the apocalypse, death, and the fear of losing their loved ones. They particularly emphasized that an “earthquake” cannot be comprehended unless one is experiencing it.

  • P6 : “…I could hear crackling sounds coming from the walls, but I could not understand exactly what I was experiencing. The weather was dark. …I could not understand initially whether it was an earthquake. I was shocked.”

  • P9 : “…I was afraid during the earthquake. I felt helpless and terrified. Our building is 15 stories …, we could not get down, we could not go out immediately… There was nothing we could do… we… we were helpless…”

  • P16 : “…I thought the apocalypse was happening. … It was very difficult…”

Subtheme 1.3: “Earthquake” after the earthquakes

The students stated that their lives were turned upside down, and their homes, memories, and experiences were lost after the earthquakes.

  • P2 : “When we left the house in a hurry, we could not take anything with us. Even we could not wear our shoes… We had to wait under the snow barefoot for the whole night… It was very cold; we lit a fire…”

  • P3 : “After the earthquake… We stayed outside for the following three days. Then we moved to a tent. In this process, well, yes, people are affected financially, but also, they are affected mostly psychologically.”

  • P10 : “Everything changed after the earthquake. The experiences, memories, everything in our home were lost. They all replaced by dust and smoke. Our lives were burned like a piece of paper after the earthquake and turned into ashes.”

Theme 2: Am I aware of the “earthquake” now?

The second theme was categorized into two subthemes: (2.1) awareness of an “earthquake” and (2.2) community preparedness.

Subtheme 2.1. Awareness of an “earthquake”

The students stated that after surviving, they were prepared for an “earthquake” by taking precautions, such as preparing an earthquake kit (with water and food) and charging their phones. They also expressed that experiencing an earthquake was very instructive.

  • P12 : “We did not even have an earthquake kit before. Now we have prepared earthquake bags for both home and car. We are more careful about earthquakes.”

  • P14 : “Now I always sleep with a bottle of water at my bedside. I also charge my phone.”

  • P17 : “The earthquake taught us patience. My outlook on life has completely changed.”

Subtheme 2.2. Community preparedness

The students expressed that although they felt incapable of helping because they were first‐year students, they attempted to go to earthquake rescue areas and help victims. They informed their surviving family members and children about the protection measurements during and after the earthquake. They cooperated with other survivors by preparing aid packages and donating blood.

  • P2 : “I am a nursing student, but I could not do anything. I wish I had been taught basic first‐aid methods.”

  • P5 : “I wanted to go out to search and rescue area right after the earthquake. I am studying to be a nurse, and I could not stand people dying. …Small earthquakes have since happened. That is why we have started to educate my siblings and other children about earthquakes. We explain to children what to do when an earthquake occurs.”

  • P14 : “We went to aid centres for earthquake victims. I tried to do whatever I could. We went to the mobile Red Crescent and donated blood.”

Theme 3: Coping mechanisms and supporting systems

The third theme was categorized into two subthemes: (3.1) getting rid of by forgetting and (3.2) hugging my loved ones.

Subtheme 3.1. Getting rid of by forgetting

The students used various coping methods during this traumatic experience. They preferred reading, listening to music, walking alone, studying, and staying away from the news and conversations about the earthquake to alleviate the effects of the trauma.

  • P1 : “I usually spend time outside with my siblings. We attend different social activities… we play football, go to the library, and read book. I feel better when studying.”

  • P3 : “I just needed silence for the first few weeks. I desired to calm down and rest my mind… because of overthinking…. Everyone around me was talking about the catastrophe. Therefore, I tried not to be involved in a crowded environment for a period. I was already feeling bad. Being in an environment talked about the earthquakes and the aftermath repeatedly was very tiring. I was exhausted both physically and mentally. Then I found a way to read every day to find peace.”

Subtheme 3.2. Hugging my loved ones

The students spent more time with their family members and friends after the earthquakes; thus, they expressed their desire to ensure inner peace and feel relaxed.

  • P2 : “I chat with my cousins. Sometimes I go out with them and chill out.”

  • P7 : “I was with my family when the earthquake happened. This was a huge emptiness feeling in me. After surviving the first earthquake, I immediately ran and hugged them…”

  • P14 : “After the earthquakes, I have started to spend more time with my family. It feels particularly good to be able to chat with them…”

DISCUSSION

This study aimed to understand the experiences of earthquake‐affected first‐year nursing students through semistructured interviews. Three main themes were identified: (1) What “earthquake” was and what it is now? (2) Am I aware of the “earthquake” now? (3) Coping mechanisms and support systems.

Any physical and emotional experiences related to an earthquake directly affect the earthquake‐related risk perception (Bronfman et al., 2020). In this study, nursing students perceived the earthquake as an ordinary natural event that was thought to be unlikely, trained rarely, and identified as a short‐term quake before experiencing it. Studies have shown that nursing students are unprepared for (Kaviani et al., 2022; Longo, 2022; Mohamed et al., 2023) and unaware of any disasters that they have not experienced (Öztekin et al., 2015). Therefore, nursing students’ insights into the meaning of an earthquake experience are thought to be vital to the interventions that would be performed to determine their awareness and improve their preparedness levels.

Turkey's earthquakes occurred in the middle of the night of February 6, 2023. Hence, most nursing students in the current study expressed negative feelings such as fear, panic, helplessness, and inability to understand the situation due to sleepiness and hesitance. All these indicate how deep the effects were on individuals experiencing the devastating earthquake. Arslan et al. (2024) found that earthquake‐survivor nursing students at all levels expressed the same feelings as in this study (Arslan et al., 2024). Individuals who were affected by disasters such as earthquakes, where it is unknown when, where, and how they will occur, may feel a great shock and a sense of helplessness (Arslan et al., 2024; Tan et al., 2022). As declared, Turkey's earthquakes affected the widest area ever and occurred in a series with devastating large‐scale effects (UNDP, 2023). Preparation and training are vital for individuals to be able to manage emotions more effectively and to increase social awareness during an earthquake. Nursing students showed various behavioral reactions, including standing under doorways and running into the street, which are unsuitable for individual disaster preparedness or ensuring their safety during an earthquake (Longo, 2022). In the current study, because of insufficient knowledge, the nursing students expressed their incompetence in operating protective actions during earthquakes. In a study, disaster preparedness among third‐ and fourth‐year nursing students was found to be higher (Abou Hashish & Banoona, 2023). Hasan et al. (2024) found that students at higher levels of nursing education had advanced disaster‐related self‐efficacy. In Turkey, courses that provide students with disaster risk assessment and preparedness knowledge and skills are not included in the first‐year nursing education curriculum (Turkish Higher Education Council, 2022). In this context, providing students with this knowledge and skills at the beginning of nursing education is necessary to support a proactive approach.

An earthquake is an extraordinary situation that affects individuals in multiple biopsychosocial aspects (İlhan et al., 2023; Jung & Han, 2023; Khosravi et al., 2021). The earthquakes in Turkey caused thousands of deaths and disabilities and left millions of people homeless (UNDP, 2023). Therefore, in this study, the “real disaster” was perceived by the nursing students as “the consequences of the earthquake.” Statements of the students, who expressed that their lives had fallen apart, not only their houses but also their memories and experiences, revealed the devastating results of the earthquakes. Likewise, the metaphor most specified regarding earthquakes was defined by the students as “apocalypse.” Metaphors covering emotions explain that the earthquake was unexpected. Disasters such as earthquakes not only cause mass mortality but also devastate survivors’ psychology (Khosravi et al., 2021). In the current study, sleep disorders, the feeling of going outside frequently, experiencing hundreds of aftershocks, and witnessing negative discussions about the future of other people were considered as the psychological impacts of the earthquake. University students are known to be vulnerable to the devastating effects of disasters (Fu et al., 2013). Therefore, nurse educators should strengthen the disaster competencies of nursing students to cultivate a highly resilient nursing workforce (Abou Hashish & Banoona, 2023; Mohamed et al., 2023; Yildiz & Yildirim, 2022).

Exposure to disasters is known to improve knowledge and awareness (Becker et al., 2017), and subsequently, individuals are likelier to be prepared (Parlak et al., 2023). This study demonstrated that exposure to the earthquake led to better preparation for future events by taking precautions, including organizing an earthquake bag, keeping water and food near their bed at night, and charging their mobile phones. In line with the literature (Jung & Han, 2023), the students in the current study recognized the importance of earthquake preparedness, particularly after the earthquake. In the literature, although traumatic events, such as earthquakes, can increase stress levels of individuals, being exposed to these kinds of events has been found to contribute to personal development, which is called “posttraumatic growth,” namely, positive‐change experiences after recovering from trauma (Jung & Han, 2023). This is considered a crucial step in reducing the undesired effects of earthquakes by aiming to meet basic needs during and after an earthquake. Students are thought to gain insights into the importance of earthquake preparedness. Therefore, earthquake drills should be performed from the initiation of nursing schools.

Healthcare students are very willing to work as members of disaster response teams (Inal & Kaya, 2021). They are eager to provide health education to their families, willing to donate blood, and prepare support packs for other survivors. As found in the literature, nursing students in their first year of education felt inadequate as healthcare professionals in earthquake‐affected regions (Jung & Han, 2023; Kim & Lee, 2020). Experiencing an earthquake is thought to emphasize the critical importance of teamwork and supporting each other among nursing students.

Nevertheless, natural disasters, such as earthquakes, can adversely impact the lives of younger individuals (İlhan et al., 2023; Tan et al., 2022). Coping methods provide powerful effects for forgetting terrible experiences and regaining psychological well‐being following the trauma (Fu et al., 2013). In this study, nursing students were found to use various active and social coping methods to manage the psychosocial effects of earthquakes. They stated that engaging in daily routines provided relief from the traumatic experience. This is a unique contribution of the current study to the literature on nursing students. In the literature on the general public, individuals’ disaster experiences were found to positively affect disaster preparedness and their coping skills regarding the difficulties that arise after a disaster (Moon et al., 2020). The necessity of nursing education was emphasized to improve disaster preparedness by developing positive coping skills among nursing students (Abou Hashish & Banoona, 2023; Kaviani et al., 2022). Therefore, nursing students should be supported in adopting positive earthquake‐related coping skills to reduce the impact of victimization. The nursing education curriculum should be reinforced to increase disaster‐related competencies by developing students’ positive coping skills during their education period.

Difficulties encountered among healthcare professionals in earthquakes should be determined to reduce emotional exhaustion regarding effective responses (Kiliç Bayageldi & Kaloğlu Binici, 2024; Said et al., 2022). Traumatic experiences caused by an earthquake may increase earthquake survivors’ attachment levels to their loved ones (Fu et al., 2013). In this study, first‐year nursing students tend to spend more time with their family members, resolve their disagreements, and support each other after the earthquakes. Arslan et al. (2024) found that third‐ and fourth‐year nursing students were more sensitive to helping family members than first‐year students. This difference may stem from students’ cultural basis, sense of family belonging, and/or problem‐solving skills. In this study, all the students stated that chatting with their friends made them feel better. Like what was found in the literature (Fu et al., 2013), maintaining communication and solidarity with close family and friends provided important support in coping with the psychosocial effects of the earthquake. Building healthy relationships with nursing students can positively affect their professionalism by facilitating their adaptation to the process in extraordinary situations, such as disasters. Therefore, nursing students should be prepared with adequate psychosocial coping skills, along with disaster response knowledge, to be empowered against future mental tensions regarding posttraumatic experiences of disasters.

Limitations

The adoption of a maximum variation sampling method to gain additional insights into the catastrophic effects of Turkey's earthquakes in 2023 can be considered a strength of this study. However, data are based on the perspectives and self‐reports of the students and are limited to their feelings and thoughts in an interview. Therefore, the results cannot be generalized to all earthquake‐affected nursing students in Turkey. Additionally, the use of an online meeting program in the data collection process may have affected to capture the exact feelings expressed by the gestures.

CONCLUSION

In this study, the earthquake‐affected nursing students’ experiences were found to highlight the importance of being prepared for disasters and meeting emotional needs. Such nursing students can provide an important opportunity to recognize the feelings of disaster victims whom they may encounter in the future. Thus, individual‐centered care given by this workforce will undoubtedly reach its goal. Therefore, including specific courses and case study discussions regarding disasters, whether natural or human‐caused, in education programs can ensure that better‐equipped nurses are cultivated.

Implications for nursing practice and policies

The integration of content regarding management and coping with such crises into the nursing curriculum is considered vital. Therefore, mixed‐method studies designed to determine the experiences of earthquake‐affected nursing students are recommended. Moreover, interventional studies are recommended to improve nursing students’ knowledge, preparedness, disaster‐related self‐efficacy, resilience, and coping skills.

Nurse educators and nursing associations should collaborate to produce and implement effective and global policies to gain disaster preparedness and improve disaster response skills among nursing students from the beginning of their education period. Nursing schools and professional nursing organizations should act together to encourage students to confidently perform their professional roles in any kind of disaster anywhere.

AUTHOR CONTRIBUTIONS

Study design: Ebru Sönmez Sari and Handan Terzi. Data collection: Ebru Sönmez Sari. Data analysis: Ebru Sönmez Sari and Handan Terzi. Study supervision: Ebru Sönmez Sari and Handan Terzi. Manuscript writing: Ebru Sönmez Sari and Handan Terzi. Critical revisions for important intellectual content: Ebru Sönmez Sari and Handan Terzi.

CONFLICT OF INTEREST STATEMENT

The authors declare no conflicts of interest.

FUNDING

This research did not receive any specific grant from any funding agency in the public, commercial, or not‐for‐profit sectors.

ETHICAL APPROVAL

The ethical approval was obtained from the Bayburt University Ethical Committe (March 7, 2023/70‐3).

PATIENT CONSENT STATEMENT

The informed consents were obtained from the individuals who agreed to participate in this research.

Supporting information

Supporting Information

INR-72-0-s001.docx (13KB, docx)

ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

The authors would like to thank all the individuals for their voluntary participation and valuable contribution to this study.

Sönmez Sari, E. & Terzi, H. (2025) A qualitative study on Turkey's earthquakes, the century's catastrophe: Perspectives and coping methods of surviving nursing students. International Nursing Review, 72, e13042. 10.1111/inr.13042

DATA AVAILABILITY STATEMENT

The data can be obtained from the corresponding author.

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