Effect of education using the virtual social network on the knowledge and attitude of emergency nurses of disaster preparedness: A quasi-experiment study

Background: Nurses play an important role in helping people to cope with disasters. Dealing with disasters requires proper knowledge, attitudes and skills that can be achieved through education. Education through virtual social networks as a method of distance education can be used due to its accessibility and ease of use. Objectives: To investigate the effect of education using the virtual social network on the knowledge and attitude of emergency nurses of disaster preparedness. Design: This was a pre-test and post-test quasi-experimental study with a control group. Setting The study was conducted in two hospitals in Tehran, Iran. Participants: A total of 60 nurses (n = 30 nurses in each group) participated in this study. Before the study, they signed the informed consent form. Methods: They were selected using a census method and were divided into two control (n = 30) and intervention groups (n = 30). Data was collected before and after the intervention using the disaster preparedness questionnaire. The intervention group received 34-session education of disaster preparedness via the virtual social network (Telegram application). Data was analyzed using descriptive and inferential statistics via the SPSS v.22 software. Results: No statistically significant difference was reported between the groups regarding the pretest knowledge score, but the posttest knowledge score was significantly higher in the intervention group compared to the control group (p < 0.001). In the intervention group, knowledge scores significantly increased at the posttest compared to the pretest (p < 0.01). No a similar condition happened in the control group. While the posttest attitude score was higher than the pretest attitude score, it was not statistically significant. Conclusions: A significant increase in the knowledge score of the intervention group was reported compared to the control group indicating the effectiveness of learning through the virtual social network. Also, the high level of attitude scores before and after education indicated the positive attitude of emergency nurses toward the need for disaster preparedness.