Affiliation:
1. Department of Emergency Medicine, Health Science University, Antalya Training and Research Hospital, Antalya, Turkey
2. Emergency Aid and Disaster Management, Somalia Mogadishu Recep Tayyip Erdoğan Faculty of Health Sciences, Somalia, East Africa
Abstract
Abstract
Background:
Disasters cause significant material and spiritual destruction within communities, resulting in significant damage to societal structures.
Objective:
This study aims to assess disaster awareness and attitudes toward disasters among emergency and disaster management students.
Materials and Methods:
This study included undergraduate students enrolled in the Department of Emergency and Disaster Management during the 2022–2023 academic year. A total of 85 students participated in this study and were contacted via an online Google form to assess their disaster awareness and attitudes toward disasters. The survey, consisting of a total of 23 items, was designed to assess participants’ cognitive, affective, and behavioral characteristics.
Results:
The study included 85 participants studying in the Emergency and Disaster Management department. Females made up 64.7% of the participants. The mean score of the responses given in the cognitive subfactor was 2.69 ± 0.56, the mean score of the responses given in the affective subfactor was 3.13 ± 0.47, and the mean score of the responses given in the behavioral subfactor was 2.67 ± 0.76.
Conclusion:
Having previously experienced a disaster, being male, belonging to a higher socio-economic class, and being older increase the average Disaster Attitude Scale score, and the increase in the average score indicates an increase in disaster awareness.