Basic Training of Teachers and Public Health Nurses for Communication with Residents for Smooth Shelter Management: A Pilot Study

In Japan, schools are commonly used as disaster evacuation centers. Teachers have evacuation center management roles; however, there is no established training for teachers to balance their management roles and teaching activities. We evaluated the effectiveness of simulation training that we designed to help teachers fulfill their roles in disaster situations while minimizing educational interruptions. A total of 42 teachers completed pre- and post-simulation questionnaires. Qualitative data were collected based on their free-response evaluations. The average scores showed significant increases in the cognitive (p < 0.001), affective, (p = 0.001), and psychomotor (p < 0.001) domains. The participants expressed acceptance of the others, confirmation of evacuation center rules, and a capacity to handle personal information. The study displayed what had happened at the shelters, and highlighted consensus building and job conflicts among the evacuees. Participating teachers learned a clear idea of what would happen in the workplace if it became a shelter after a disaster. They were accepting evacuating residents to their workplace and understood that cooperation was essential to ensure the education and safety of their school children.