Hospitals are the first-line care providers in natural disasters. Nurses, as one of the critical health professional groups, require adequate peroration for responding to natural disasters. Due attention has to be paid to various teaching methods to improve the level of nurses' preparedness.

This study compared the effect of lecturing and lecturing-tabletop exercise methods on the level of nurses' preparedness against natural disasters.

In this quasi-experimental study, 74 nurses were randomly selected from different wards at a hospital in Yazd City, Iran, in 2017. Nurses' preparedness level was measured with the 72-item Scale for Nurses' Preparedness against Natural Disasters, including three areas of knowledge, attitude, and performance. The study participants were assigned into group A (lecturing method, n=37) and group B (lecturing-tabletop exercise method, n=37) using a simple random sampling technique. Nurses' level of preparedness was measured three times (pre- and postintervention, and follow-up) using the Preparedness for Disasters questionnaire. The obtained data were analyzed applying repeated measures Analysis of Variance (ANOVA) and Paired Samples t-test.

The mean scores of nurses' knowledge, attitude, and performance were increased by 4.94, 7.38, and 5.59 in group A as well as 6.56, 11.43, and 6.08 in group B. Additionally, the total score of nurses' preparedness in group B was significantly higher at Pre-test, post-test, and one-month followup (107.89±7.50) (P=0.0001).

Education (lecturing and lecturing-tabletop exercise methods) positively affected nurses' preparedness. However, it was more effective through lecturing-tabletop exercise methods due to having a scenario and the better participation of nurses in the learning process. This finding emphasizes the positive effect of participants' interactions in the tabletop exercise method on the quality of education, critical skill, and increased level of nurses' preparedness against natural disasters. © 2020. All Rights Reserved.