Enhancing Disaster Preparedness ThroughTabletop Disaster Exercises: A Scoping Review ofBenefits for Health Workers and Students

Universitas Padjadjaran Highlights the Impact of Tabletop Disaster Exercises on Enhancing Preparedness of Health Workers and Students

Disaster preparedness remains a critical global challenge, especially in high-risk countries like Indonesia, which faces thousands of natural and non-natural disasters annually. A recent scoping review led by researchers from the Faculty of Nursing, Universitas Padjadjaran led by Dr. Etika Emaliyawati,S.Kep.,Ners.,M.Kep, synthesized evidence from 12 studies across multiple countries, including Indonesia, the US, Australia, Iran, and Korea, on the benefits of Tabletop Disaster Exercises (TDE) in strengthening disaster readiness among health professionals and students.

The review found that TDE significantly improves students’ knowledge, attitudes, self-confidence, and overall preparedness for disaster situations. For health workers, TDE enhances critical competencies including disaster knowledge, awareness, role understanding, triage skills, performance, and self-confidence in managing emergencies.

Given the increasing frequency of disasters worldwide and their devastating impacts, integrating TDE into nursing education and training programs offers a practical and effective strategy to equip future and current health professionals with the necessary skills for rapid, coordinated disaster response.

This research supports SDG 3 (Good Health and Well-being) by promoting resilient health systems and skilled disaster response teams capable of saving lives and reducing harm during emergencies.

📖 Full article: https://doi.org/10.2147/AMEP.S504705