Table 3 Themes and subthemes of RQ 1: Challenges in evacuation centers
Themes | Subthemes | Examples of codes |
|---|---|---|
Experiences of not being recognized as an evacuee by residents | Experiences of being hurt by residents’ words | Residents lost their jobs due to the disaster. Because we were working, the residents told us, “I envy you.” We were the outlet for their frustration. (pIV) |
It was hard to hear residents say, “We can’t do our jobs because we lost our jobs.” (pI) | ||
I was most shocked when a resident cursed me, saying, “You’re on the government side.” (pVI) | ||
Residents were confronted with stress caused by the disaster, dissatisfaction with the shelters, and a desire to return home. (pII, III, IV, and IX) | ||
Sadness at not being reconized as an evacuee | They just saw me as a public servant and did not see me as a disaster victim. (pI, II, VI, and IX) | |
Conflicts between multiple positions | Conflicts between roles at home and thoughts as a nurse | During the evacuation, I had conflicts between roles as a mother, a nurse, and a city employee. (pIV) |
Conflicts between being a city employee and a nurse | Residents identified us as both a nurse and a city employee. (pI, VI, and IX) | |
Difficulties in performing tasks which they had never experienced before | Difficulties in working in a field different from clinical practice | My role at the evacuation centers was public health service. I felt tha my knowledge was insufficient because it was different from nursing care in a hospital. (pII, VIII, and IX) |
The difficulty in the first experience | I had never been involved in disaster relief before, and this was my first time working in an evacuation center.(pII, IV, V, and VIII) | |
It was my first time being affected by a major disaster and working in an evacuation center, so I was nervous the whole time. (pVI, and VII) | ||
Difficulties in making decisions when responding to the individual cases | While visiting a temporary housing complex, I found a resident collapsed inside. Since there was no standard of procedures for handling the situation, I was confused whether I should call an ambulance or not. My decision might cause messy conflict in the other evacuees. (pX) | |
Anxiety in working | Anxiety | We were also anxious about what would happen to us, and it was breaking our hearts. (pIV) |
Uncertainty in losing the goal | All I could think about was how I was going to spend my time and deal with it on a daily basis. (pVI) | |
It was all I could do to spend each day. (pV) |