Background Disaster victim identification (DVI) is a critical component of forensic and humanitarian disaster response. Although nurses constitute the largest segment of the global health workforce and are frequently mobilized during disasters, their roles in DVI and mass fatality management remain poorly defined in international standards and disaster nursing frameworks. Main body This scoping review aimed to map the available evidence on the roles, competencies, and contributions of nursing professionals in DVI. The review followed the Joanna Briggs Institute (JBI) methodology and the PRISMA-ScR guideline. Searches of MEDLINE (via PubMed), Web of Science (Core Collection), and Scopus were conducted, supplemented by citation chasing, a grey-literature search across six organizational repositories, and targeted handsearching of forensic nursing reference texts. Three reviewers independently screened records and extracted data. Six sources met the inclusion criteria: two peer-reviewed primary studies and four grey-literature sources, including two nursing competency frameworks, one professional standards document, and one forensic nursing textbook chapter. The primary studies documented nursing participation in mass fatality operations in two distinct contexts: a nurse formally integrated into a Belgian DVI team during the 2004 Indian Ocean Tsunami response, and nurses and nursing assistants redeployed to decedent handling during the COVID-19 pandemic in New York. The most comprehensive operational account was a forensic nursing textbook chapter describing nursing roles across all four INTERPOL DVI phases and their formal integration into the US Disaster Mortuary Operational Response Team and Family Assistance Care Team. Across sources, two themes were identified: (1) nursing roles and transferable competencies relevant to DVI, including evidence handling, documentation, family liaison, specimen collection, and culturally sensitive care; and (2) persistent gaps in policy, education, and formal role recognition. Notably, neither the INTERPOL DVI Guide (<CitationRef CitationID="CR14">2023</CitationRef>) nor the ICN Core Competencies in Disaster Nursing (<CitationRef CitationID="CR10">2022</CitationRef>) formally defines nursing roles in DVI. Conclusion The evidence base on nursing in DVI is extremely limited, but the available literature indicates that nurses possess competencies directly relevant to forensic identification and mass fatality response. Formal integration exists in selected national forensic response structures, yet this is not reflected in international DVI standards. Recognizing nursing within DVI frameworks, developing DVI-specific education, and generating empirical evidence are necessary to strengthen global forensic preparedness, particularly in low- and middle-income settings.

Nursing roles and competencies in disaster victim identification: a scoping review

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2026年6月20日

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I Made Moh. Yanuar Saifudin,
Rika Sarfika,
Hema Malini,
Ferry Efendi

摘要

Background

Disaster victim identification (DVI) is a critical component of forensic and humanitarian disaster response. Although nurses constitute the largest segment of the global health workforce and are frequently mobilized during disasters, their roles in DVI and mass fatality management remain poorly defined in international standards and disaster nursing frameworks.

Main body

This scoping review aimed to map the available evidence on the roles, competencies, and contributions of nursing professionals in DVI. The review followed the Joanna Briggs Institute (JBI) methodology and the PRISMA-ScR guideline. Searches of MEDLINE (via PubMed), Web of Science (Core Collection), and Scopus were conducted, supplemented by citation chasing, a grey-literature search across six organizational repositories, and targeted handsearching of forensic nursing reference texts. Three reviewers independently screened records and extracted data. Six sources met the inclusion criteria: two peer-reviewed primary studies and four grey-literature sources, including two nursing competency frameworks, one professional standards document, and one forensic nursing textbook chapter. The primary studies documented nursing participation in mass fatality operations in two distinct contexts: a nurse formally integrated into a Belgian DVI team during the 2004 Indian Ocean Tsunami response, and nurses and nursing assistants redeployed to decedent handling during the COVID-19 pandemic in New York. The most comprehensive operational account was a forensic nursing textbook chapter describing nursing roles across all four INTERPOL DVI phases and their formal integration into the US Disaster Mortuary Operational Response Team and Family Assistance Care Team. Across sources, two themes were identified: (1) nursing roles and transferable competencies relevant to DVI, including evidence handling, documentation, family liaison, specimen collection, and culturally sensitive care; and (2) persistent gaps in policy, education, and formal role recognition. Notably, neither the INTERPOL DVI Guide (2023) nor the ICN Core Competencies in Disaster Nursing (2022) formally defines nursing roles in DVI.

Conclusion

The evidence base on nursing in DVI is extremely limited, but the available literature indicates that nurses possess competencies directly relevant to forensic identification and mass fatality response. Formal integration exists in selected national forensic response structures, yet this is not reflected in international DVI standards. Recognizing nursing within DVI frameworks, developing DVI-specific education, and generating empirical evidence are necessary to strengthen global forensic preparedness, particularly in low- and middle-income settings.