Engaging residents from different ethnic and language backgrounds in disaster preparedness

Objective: Within the scope of medical services provided during disasters, the aim is to reduce fatalities as much as possible. Therefore, it is crucial to assess, through pre-disaster training for volunteers currently involved or with high potential for involvement, their willingness to volunteer in disaster situations and their sense of preparedness for emergencies. This study investigates the disaster awareness level, perceived preparedness for disaster events, thoughts on the safety of their living environments against disasters, reasons for willingness or unwillingness to volunteer in disasters, and the level of disaster preparedness among healthcare personnel working in emergency medicine clinics of public hospitals on the European side of Istanbul, who are either currently involved or have high potential for involvement in disasters. Methods: The study included personnel working in emergency medicine clinics of public hospitals affiliated with the Istanbul European Side Public Hospitals Association. Personnel working in the emergency medicine clinics of these hospitals were asked to voluntarily answer the questionnaire provided in Appendix 1. The data obtained were recorded in an Excel file. Results: Of the 338 participants, 196 (58%) were male and 142 (42%) were female, with a mean age of 29.49 ± 8.11 years. 185 participants (54.7%) were single. Participants informed about the hospital disaster plan had greater belief that the hospital's disaster response plan administrators could report to their posts very quickly. Those who had previously lost a close relative had received disaster training at a higher rate. It was found that those who had received training before had a stronger belief in their own adequacy. Conclusion: Recent pre-disaster training programs have shown an increase in the willingness to volunteer during disasters and the sense of preparedness for emergencies. Our study predicts that the level of disaster awareness and preparedness is directly proportional to the willingness to volunteer during disasters. bunu tıbbı dılde turlceye cevır

The aim of this paper is to discuss the higher institutions level of man-made disaster preparedness. It is based on a study carried out in educational institutions in Nairobi County Kenya. The study sought to answer the questions: How are the universities prepared for all existing and potential man made hazards? Are there any risky areas and practices in the universities? And do the universties have a practical disaster preparedness and emergency action plan? With the view of gaining more insight on this matter a descriptive survey design which focused on the level of disaster preparedness in the institutions was used. The assessment was conducted between October 2015 and January 2016. The sample size constituted four universities; 3 public universities and 1 Private University with a total of 452 respondents. The universities were purposively sampled due to their location within Nairobi city. The respondents were proportionately sampled from the universities using simple random sampling technique. Data was collected through use of questionnaires, focus group discussions, key informant interviews, observations and secondary data were also used. The research established that 59.9% of the respondents professed that the target institutions were not prepared with respect to man-made disasters while, 41.1% perceived otherwise. About half of the respondents 49.73% reported having low level of awareness on responding to man-made disasters. The assessment concludes that there exist unsafe prevailing circumstances in the target institutions premises that increase the vulnerability of their population to man-made disasters. The target institutions are unprepared to handle potential man-made disasters and the situation could be worsened due to the low levels of awareness among their population. The study recommends that the institutions endeavor to establish operational emergency preparedness/action plans for common man-made disasters and invest in man-made disaster preparedness training to enhance awareness among the population at the institutions.Key Words: Disaster, Preparedness, Assessment, Hazards, Institutions and Education

The aim of this paper is to discuss the higher institutions level of man-made disaster preparedness. It is based on a study carried out in educational institutions in Nairobi County Kenya. The study sought to answer the questions:How are the universitiesprepared for all existing and potential man made hazards?Are there any risky areas and practices in the universities?And do the universties have a practical disaster preparedness and emergency action plan?With the view of gaining moreinsight on this matter a descriptive survey design whichfocused on the level of disaster preparedness in the institutionswas used.The assessment was conductedbetween October 2015 and January 2016.The sample size constituted four universities; 3 public universities and 1 Private University with a total of 452 respondents.The universities were purposively sampled due to their location within Nairobi city. The respondents were proportionately sampled from the universities using simple random sampling technique. Data was collected through use of questionnaires, focus group discussions, key informant interviews, observations and secondary data were also used. The research established that 59.9% of the respondents professed that the target institutions were not prepared with respect to man-made disasters while, 41.1% perceived otherwise. About half of the respondents 49.73% reported having low level of awareness on responding to man-made disasters. The assessment concludes that there exist unsafe prevailing circumstances in the target institutions premises that increase the vulnerability of their population to man-made disasters. The target institutions are unprepared to handle potential man-made disasters and the situation could be worsened due to the low levels of awareness among their population. The study recommends that the institutions endeavor to establish operational emergency preparedness/action plans for common man-made disasters and invest in man-made disaster preparedness training to enhance awareness among the population at the institutions. Key Words: Disaster, Preparedness, Assessment, Hazards, Institutions and Education

Introduction: In disaster-prone countries, preparedness is a very important factor in reducing the damages of disaster. The aim of this study is to determine the disaster preparedness knowledge level of a university’s medical students and to evaluate the relationships between possible related factors and disaster preparedness knowledge. Material and Method: This study is a cross-sectional study. The subject of research is measuring the level of disaster preparedness knowledge. The working period in which the online survey is applied is December 1-December 31, 2020. It was aimed to participate that attend the first and second grades of the medical faculty studying in the main campus of a University in Turkey. In order to compare the knowledge level of disaster preparedness among medical students, it was planned to include other faculty students as a control group. In the study, 75 medical students and 20 students from other faculties participated. A high score indicates good disaster preparedness. Chi-square, Mann Whitney U, and Kruskal Wallis were used in the statistical analyses. Results: The median value for disaster preparedness level score for all participants was 51.0 (min: 23.0; max: 63.0). Disaster preparedness knowledge level median score (54.0 [29.0-63.0]) was higher in women than men (48.5 [23.0-62.0]) (p<0.05). The median score of disaster preparedness knowledge level (53.0 [23.0-63.0]) of the second and upper grade was higher than the median score (49.0 [29.0-62.0]) of the first-year students (p<0.05). The median score of disaster preparedness knowledge level (55.0 [34.0-62.0]) was higher than the others (49.0 [23.0-63.0]) in those living in the city where their family resides (p<0.05). Conclusion: It can be said that the level of disaster preparedness for all participants is good. It is recommended to conduct a similar study in a larger study group.

This study evaluates the level of disaster preparedness among first-line nurse managers. The presented study utilizes Bandura's Social Cognitive Theory of Self-Efficacy as a theoretical framework as it emphasizes that individuals' confidence in their abilities, shaped by experience, training, and education, plays a significant role in their performance during disaster management and increased by real-world experience as well as education. A descriptive cross-sectional survey design was conducted by using a validated questionnaire based on the International Council of Nurses framework. Data were collected using a convivence sample of 106 first-line nurse managers across hospitals in Jordan between March and May 2023. Descriptive and inferential statistics were utilized. The results highlighted a moderate level of disaster preparedness (M = 3.52, SD = 0.84), with the highest scores in assessment (M = 3.65, SD = 0.92) and intervention (M = 3.58, SD = 0.98). Significant differences in preparedness were observed based on hospital type, leadership role, disaster training type, and education level. Nurse managers with prior disaster training, higher education, and leadership roles indicated a higher level of preparedness. This study highlights the need for increased disaster training programs tailored to nurse managers, integrating theoretical knowledge with hands-on experience. Strengthening disaster preparedness in nursing education and hospital policies is essential to ensure effective disaster response and improve patient safety. Findings can guide future strategies for disaster preparedness training and policy development in Jordanian health care settings.

In a disaster pregnant women and children are at a higher risk than other population, because they have special physical and psychosocial needs which require continued care despite the community circumstances. Therefore, it is essential a presence of an experienced health worker, who is more aware of disaster planning and preparedness to serve the needs of the pregnant women and children. Objectives are to assess the knowledge, preparedness and associated factors of Public Health Midwives in 3 mostly affected MOH areas on maternal and child care during disasters. Methods: Between July to September 2016, all PHM in 3 MOH areas, (total of 78) were selected for the study to collect data by a self-administered questionnaire. The participants were surveyed of their personal information, information about their field, history of disasters occurred in their field, knowledge on maternal and child care in disasters, level of disaster preparedness and trainings received on disaster management. The knowledge and preparedness were analyzed in relation to the socio-economic and demographic characteristics of the participants. Results: The study results revealed that only 47.3% of PHMs were having a good knowledge on maternal and child care during disasters and especially they need to improve the knowledge in natal care, new-born care and infant care. Relatively they had a good knowledge on antenatal care and child care. There was no significant association between the age, educational level, field experience, MOH area and facing of disasters in the past with the knowledge, which reflects that every one should have a good knowledge in disasters in spite of any circumstances. The preparedness for disasters among the study population was 33.8% and most of them didn’t think of the possible disasters that can happen in their fields and didn’t have a response plan. The level of preparedness was not significantly associated with other factors like age, educational level, field experience, MOH area or previous exposure to disasters. 58.1% of the participants were not learned about disaster management in any instance in their service period and 94.6% not participated in any training programme. Conclusion & Recommendation: The PHM in 3 MOH areas should be promoted to get further educational qualifications to upgrade their knowledge. They should be encouraged to gain more knowledge and preparedness on disasters by giving service appreciation and awards for that field.

One of the biggest challenges we face today is providing information on the risk of natural disasters and preparedness is crucial with the least damage. The goal is to help develop vitally important skills and enable them to make correct decisions in critical situations. Knowledge provides the best instrument for disseminating the information necessary to reduce disaster risks by implementing appropriate risk reduction measures. This study ascertains the level of disaster preparedness in case of emergency. The study used the descriptive-correlation design with 80 respondents. Questionnaires and interviews were employed. G-Power; Frequency counts and percentages; Mean; t-test; F- test or Analysis of Variance (ANOVA) and Kendall’s tau-b was used. Results revealed that the level of disaster preparedness and management in case of emergency is sometimes. Age, civil status, ethnic affiliation, and occupation affect disaster preparedness and management in case of emergency. Ethnic affiliation and occupation affect the relationship between disaster preparedness and management in case of emergency. Findings suggest that disseminate disaster risk reduction information at all levels, develop educational programs on disaster risk reduction; develop a safe behavior model and skills, and learning by doing is necessary to develop their knowledge and skills.

Patients seeking care in public hospitals are often resource-limited populations who have in past disasters become the most vulnerable. The objective of this study was to determine the personal disaster preparedness of emergency department (ED) patients and to identify predictors of low levels of preparedness. It was hypothesized that vulnerable populations would be better prepared for disasters. A prospective cross-sectional survey was conducted over a one-year period of patients seeking care in a public university hospital ED (census 65,000). Exclusion criteria were mentally impaired, institutionalized, or non-English speaking subjects. Subjects completed an anonymous survey detailing the 15 personal preparedness items from the Federal Emergency Management Agency's disaster preparedness checklist as well as demographic characteristics. Summary statistics were used to describe general preparedness. Chi-square tests were used to compare preparedness by demographics. During the study period, 857/1000 subjects completed the survey. Participants were predominantly male (57%), Caucasian (65%), middle-aged (mean 45 years), and high school graduates (83%). Seventeen percent (n = 146) reported having special needs and 8% were single parents. Most participants were not prepared: 451 (53%) had >75% of checklist items, 393 (46%) had food and water for 3 days, and 318 (37%) had food, water, and >75% of items. Level of preparedness was associated with age and parenting. Those aged 44 and older were more likely to be prepared for a disaster compared to younger respondents. (43.3% vs 31.1%, P = .0002). Similarly, single parents were more likely to be prepared than dual parenting households (47.1 vs 32.9%, P = .03). This study and others have found that only the minority of any group is actually prepared for disaster. Future research should focus on ways to implement disaster preparedness education, specifically targeting vulnerable populations, then measuring the effects of educational programs to demonstrate that preparedness has increased as a result.

Background:Disaster preparedness should be taken seriously as preventive measures and it is one of the elements in the disaster risk reduction framework but the status the country is unknown. Methods and materials: A cross-sectional study was done using Disaster Preparedness Evaluation Tool to investigate the relationship between factors contributing to disaster preparednessof on 125 critical care nurses toward their preparedness in a disaster. Findings:Thefacility where the nurses workshowed significant contributionto disaster preparedness (p <0.05). Variables that shows strong relationship and positively correlated are knowledge (r = 0.654, p = 0.001), skills (r = 0.727, p = 0.001) and perception: r = 0.737, p = 0.001). Discussion: The finding is similar to (Tzeng et al., 2016) that found disaster preparedness to have a significant association with participants’ educational level, emergency or intensive care experience, number of years in nursing and their background. Disaster experience was found to be influencing the willingness to respond (Goodhue, et al., 2012; Baack and Alfred, 2013). (Sonneborn, Miller, Head, and Cross 2018) also emphasized the nurses' required disaster training annually.Conclusion:Overall, there was a significant association between the level of knowledge, skills and perception toward disaster preparedness with the level of disaster preparedness. Training is needed to create awareness and preparedness.

Retaining quality teachers and declining numbers of language programs that will help students reach the goal of high proficiency levels for their success in today’s world has been a challenge in recent years. Language teachers have a great role to play in addressing the 21st-century learning needs of the students, e.g., critical thinking skills, which greatly rely on their innovative teaching pedagogies. This current study aimed to investigate the preparedness and effectiveness of the preservice English teachers with their instructional strategies in integrating critical thinking skills in language instruction. The population of the study was comprised of preservice English teachers assigned in secondary schools during their practice teaching stage. A modified researcher-made questionnaire-checklist was developed and validated with items on a four-point Likert Scale used to evaluate the strategies employed in integrating critical thinking skills in English language teaching through consecutive actual classroom teaching observations by the two (2) groups of mentors and by the preservice teachers themselves. The data revealed that based on the three (3) raters, the preservice English teachers have extensively integrated critical thinking skills in language instruction through the use of the higher-order- level of questioning along with analyzing, evaluating, and creating. The reported highest mean was in creating, and the lowest was in evaluating. The PSETs' extent of integration of critical thinking skills was secondly manifested through the provision of communicative tasks. The PSETs have signified three (3) communicative tasks that obtained the highest mean scores: [24] role plays (mean=3.53), [25] paired-shared activities (mean=3.52), and [19] small group work (mean=3.51). Likewise, they have identified the three (3) communicative activities with the lowest means, namely: [23] keeping a diary (mean=2.54), [6] interviews (mean=2.55), and jigsaw activities (mean=2.62). It was concluded that the preservice English teachers have extensively integrated critical thinking skills in English language teaching though there are instructional strategies along with questioning strategy through the use of higher-order-level of questions and the provision of communicative tasks that garnered low mean scores which recommend preservice English teachers to enhance maximum utilization of these teaching skills for effective integration of critical thinking skills in language instruction and eventually cater the learning needs of the 21st-century language learners. Hence, a capability enhancement program or training on the integration of critical thinking skills to preservice English teachers was also recommended based on the findings of the study.

Faith-based organizations (FBOs) often provide crucial services to their communities during and after disasters, but they largely operate outside of the formal structures that manage disaster preparedness and response. Their status within communities and ability to reach broad populations make them potentially powerful groups to lead and promote health and safety initiatives. Thus, there is opportunity to reduce health and knowledge disparities and increase disaster resiliency by providing disaster preparedness education through FBOs. This pilot study aims to assess and enhance the current level of disaster knowledge and preparedness of congregation members from six FBOs in the Los Angeles County South Service Planning Area (SPA 6) to promote their community's disaster resiliency. A structured basic disaster education curriculum was implemented at six FBOs, and participants completed a questionnaire, pre-test and post-test, and satisfaction survey. Frequency distributions of survey questions and mean differences of pre- and post-test scores were obtained. Results of the questionnaire indicated that more than half of the participants had previous experience with disaster preparedness and had taken some steps toward stockpiling supplies but showed gaps in making concrete evacuation plans and meeting places. The mean disaster knowledge test score increased from 5.15 for the pre-test to 8.04 for the post-test (p < 0.0001). The participants reported high satisfaction with the seminar. This pilot study demonstrated that there is interest, as well as need, within the faith-based community to increase personal and community disaster preparedness. The implementation of a structured disaster education seminar for congregation members showed significant immediate improvement in disaster knowledge of the participants.

Natural Disasters are unforeseen occurrences that put people's lives in peril, interrupt their lives, and result in fatalities, environmental damage, property losses, and psychological consequences. The study aims to determine the level of awareness and preparedness for natural disasters among high school students. Furthermore, this study employed a correlation research design conducted in a public secondary school of Eastern Philippines. The respondents of the study were 266 high school students who were selected through a stratified and a systematic random sampling technique. The study used an adapted survey questionnaire from Orbe et al. (2023). Findings revealed that high school students possess a highly aware of any kind of natural disaster. In addition, the result revealed that students are moderately prepared in natural disasters before, during, and after it occurred. Furthermore, the study found a significant relationship between the student's level of awareness and level of preparedness. Therefore, the students are highly aware and moderately prepared towards the occurrence of any kinds of natural catastrophes such as “floods, landslides, typhoons, etc.” Since some of the students are attending a simulation drill in preparations of what should the proper way on how to lessen the effects of any disastrous events.

Critical care (CC) nurses have a central role in stabilizing critically ill patients during high-acuity events, including disasters. However, limited evidence is available on their level of disaster preparedness (DP) and on the specific disaster competencies (DCs) required to respond effectively in such situations. Therefore, this scoping review aimed to synthesize current evidence on DP among CC nurses and to identify the DCs needed to support effective disaster response within critical care setting. This scoping review followed the Person-Concept-Context methodological framework of the Joanna Briggs Institute. A systematic search was conducted in July 2025 across MEDLINE All, Embase, Web of Science Core Collection, CINAHL Plus, and PsycINFO databases. The protocol was registered on OSF (DOI: 10.17605/OSF.IO/CAG2V). Descriptive statistics summarized study characteristics and levels of DP, while DCs were identified through thematic analysis. A total of 1,834 records were retrieved, of which 62 studies ultimately were included in the final review. Results indicated that CC nurses are insufficiently prepared for disaster situations. Additionally, four key DC themes emerged: (1) Clinical critical care competencies, (2) Operational readiness and coordination, (3) Public responsibility in disaster preparedness, and (4) Intrinsic capacities for disaster response. This scoping review demonstrated that CC nurses often feel unprepared to respond effectively to disasters. Four key disaster competency domains were identified that reflect the unique and multifaceted nature of disaster nursing in CC settings. These findings offer a foundation for developing context-specific education, policy, and practice to strengthen disaster preparedness among CC nurses. Not applicable.

Awareness and preparedness of residents living in accident-prone areas is imperative to avoid losing lives and properties. This is the case for the people living in riverines frequented by flood; they must be well-informed, prepared, and quick to repair the damages after the incident. It is the main reason the study was conducted, particularly about the levels of disaster preparedness, awareness adaptation, and mitigation practices of residents within riverine flooding-affected areas in Davao City. Four hundred residents along the riverine in Davao City were surveyed, and the data gathered were treated using statistical tools such as Mean, Pearson r, and Multiple Regressions. The result of the study disclosed that the residents of riverine flood-affected areas in Davao City rated their disaster preparedness as very high, as well as their disaster awareness, indicating that they are prepared and well-informed about the effects of floods. They also rated their adapting behavior and mitigation high, showing they knew how to adjust to their situation. Disaster preparedness is correlated to adaptation and mitigation; also, disaster awareness is correlated with adaptation and mitigation. The indicator of disaster awareness, namely flooding risk, strongly influences adaptation and mitigation. The implication of the study concerns the city government's action of relocating the people living in the area to avoid disastrous events.

Assessing Hospital Disaster Preparedness: A Comparison of an On-Site Survey, Directly Observed Drill Performance, and Video Analysis of Teamwork