Challenges of Female Nurses in Disasters: A Qualitative Study

Background: Awareness of nurses’ experiences is helpful to identify current problems in providing services during disasters. In this regard, better planning and preparation may reduce the problems of this large group of health care providers. This study aimed to investigate the experiences of female nurses in providing services during disasters. Materials and Methods: This is a qualitative study with content analysis approach. The participants comprised ۱۵ nurses with experience in providing healthcare services during disasters. Samples were recruited by purposive sampling method and sampling was continued until data saturation. Data were collected through semi-structured interviews, then analyzed by manifest content analysis. Results: Based on experiences and perceptions of nurses, three main categories found out of analyses of the obtained data were as follows: “the importance of paying attention to the specific needs of female nurses,” “places for female nurses during disastrous period,” and “the importance of the presence of female nurses in providing services.” Conclusion: Many factors affect the services delivered by female nurses. The results of this study showed that the specific needs of female nurses, who are the main body of Iranian nurses, could maximize their performance and minimize their psychological and emotional damages.