Objective  To study the level of disaster literacy among nurses in China and the influcing factors and to provide scientific basis for developing effective interventions to improve the disaster literacy among Chinese nurses.

  Methods  Between September 2021 and October 2021, an online survey was conducted among nurses from health care institutions in eastern, central, western, and northeastern China by using a cross-sectional survey design and convenience sampling. The content of the survey included the surveyed nurses' sociodemographic characteristics, occupational characteristics, disaster relief characteristics, self-efficacy, and disaster literacy level. A disaster literacy model developed previously was used to assess the nurses' disaster literacy.

  Results  A total of 107997 nurses were covered in the survey and their disaster literacy score was found to be 255.62±53.92. According to the findings of multiple linear regression, the protective factors for disaster literacy among Chinese nurses included the following, being based in Eastern region (non-standardized regression coefficient B=2.365, 95% confidence interval CI: 1.647-3.082), male sex (B=9.418, 95%CI: 7.892-10.944), bachelor's degree or higher level of education (B=3.822, 95%CI: 3.195-4.450), tertiary-level hospitals (B=3.569, 95%CI: 3.000-4.138), military/local public hospitals (B=2.606, 95%CI: 1.750-3.463), emergency department (B=2.921, 95%CI: 2.149-3.694), intermediate professional title (B=2.918, 95%CI: 2.209-3.627), senior professional title (B=5.801, 95%CI: 4.448-7.155), participation in disaster rescue (B=5.566, 95%CI: 5.020-6.112), the institution being previously involved in disaster emergency rescue (B=3.257, 95%CI: 2.429-4.084), the institution having set up disaster rescue team (B=5.967, 95%CI: 5.103-6.831), having received nursing education in disaster preparedness in school (B=6.205, 95%CI: 5.621-6.790), having received on-the-job disaster preparedness education and training (B=8.776, 95%CI: 8.027-9.525), and self-efficacy (B=5.117, 95%CI: 5.069-5.165).

  Conclusions  In China, disaster literacy among nurses is at a medium to low level and needs to be improved. For the next step, efforts should be focused on nurses with the following features, being based in the central and western regions, female sex, having completed junior college education or less, no nursing education in disaster preparedness in school, having junior professional titles, being from gynecology, pediatrics, and auxiliary departments, working in grassroots medical and health institutions and primary and secondary-level hospitals, neither the individual respondent nor her institution having any experience in disaster rescue, the institution having no disaster rescue team, not having any on-the-job nursing education and training in disaster preparedness, and having low self-efficacy. Measures should be taken to improve their disaster literacy level.