Basic Disaster Consciousness and Preparation Levels

Objectives The behaviors of individuals during disasters are determined by their level of disaster readiness and their knowledge of disaster threats. The aim of this research was to determine the basic disaster consciousness levels of individuals between the ages of 18 and 23. Methods The study included 291 students from Kelkit Aydin Dogan vocational school at the University of Gumushane. Each student completed a questionnaire with 10 informative questions about disaster consciousness. The data were evaluated using the chi-square test and the t-test. Results Not all 291 students answered each question. Of 285 students, 74.0% had not received any education on disaster preparedness. Of 249 students, 85.9% did not have a disaster preparedness plan. Of 266 students, 88.7% did not have an emergency kit. Out of 10 possible points, participants received 3.00 +/- 1.58 points on average for disaster preparedness. Conclusions The point average for student participants was quite low. Previous disaster training significantly increased the number of points received by participants. Disaster training should be extended to a wider range of individuals.