Qualitative study identifies three themes in 14 nurses’ experiences of a major earthquake in Türkiye

A qualitative study involving 14 nurses at a tertiary hospital during the initial major earthquake in one of the Turkish provinces heavily affected by the February 6 earthquakes identified three themes: psychosocial repercussions of the earthquake on nurses, sustaining care amid chaos, and lessons learnt from the earthquake. These findings are reported in the study abstract, which is the only detailed research evidence available for this article.

Researchers used a phenomenological qualitative design and conducted in-depth, semi-structured interviews with the 14 nurses. The participants worked at a tertiary hospital that was operating during the initial major earthquake. The interview data were analysed using reflexive thematic analysis, and the researchers said the study adhered to the Criteria for Reporting Qualitative Research checklist. The study was published in BMC Nursing as an accepted, open-access article subject to further editorial revision.

The first theme concerned the psychosocial repercussions experienced by nurses during the earthquake. The second, described as “sustaining care amid chaos,” addressed the challenges surrounding the continuation of nursing care under earthquake conditions. The third theme captured lessons that nurses drew from the experience. The abstract does not provide further details about particular actions, circumstances or experiences within these themes, so they cannot be characterised more specifically from the supplied evidence.

The study’s scope was limited to nurses who had worked at one tertiary hospital in one affected province during the initial major earthquake. Its qualitative design and sample of 14 participants also mean that the findings should not be assumed to represent all nurses, hospitals or affected provinces. The authors said the results may help guide nurses who encounter an earthquake while on duty and inform nurse managers and health policymakers developing relevant training programmes. The abstract does not provide detailed information about the content, delivery or evaluation of any such training, and the available evidence does not establish whether the study assessed clinical outcomes or compared nursing care before and after the earthquake.

Subject of Research: Nurses’ experiences of working at a tertiary hospital during the initial major February 6 earthquake in Türkiye

Article Title: Experiences of nurses working at the hospital during the initial major one of the February 6 earthquakes in Turkiye: a qualitative study

Article References: Aşkar, S. E., Ovayolu, Ö., & Ovayolu, N. (2026). Experiences of nurses working at the hospital during the initial major one of the February 6 earthquakes in Turkiye: a qualitative study. BMC Nursing. https://doi.org/10.1186/s12912-026-05279-3

Image Credits: AI Generated

DOI: 10.1186/s12912-026-05279-3

Keywords: earthquake nursing, Türkiye, qualitative study, phenomenology, semi-structured interviews, nurses’ experiences, disaster preparedness, nursing care, psychosocial effects, Experiences, nurses, working