Investigation of the Relationship between Disaster Preparedness and Psychological Resilience in Emergency Aid and Disaster Management Students

Abstract

In this study, the relationship between the disaster preparedness belief status and psychological resilience of undergraduate students studying in the field of Emergency Aid and Disaster Management was examined. The research was designed in the correlational model. The universe of the study consists of 2430 undergraduate students studying in the field of Emergency Aid and Disaster Management in Turkey. The convenient sampling method, one of the non-random sampling methods, was used as a sample in the study. In this context, the study was conducted with 517 (21.27%) students who were accessible and agreed to participate in the study. Demographic information form, general disaster preparedness belief scale and short psychological resilience scales were used as data collection tools. Cronbach's alpha analysis was used to determine the reliability of the scales, and Sperman's correlation analysis was used to determine the relationship between the scales and sub-dimensions. Participation in the study was 155 (32.2%) students and Çanakkale Onsekiz Mart University students participated the most. The Shapiro-Wilk test was used to determine whether the data showed normal distribution in the analysis. During the analysis of the data, the descriptive features such as total number, minimum, maximum, mean, standard deviation and median values were given. As a result of the analyzes, it was seen that the total and sub-dimensions of the disaster preparedness belief scale had a positive and significant relationship with psychological resilience. However, it was determined that perceived seriousness and psychological resilience had a significant negative relationship. Accordingly, the high level of general disaster preparedness belief in Emergency Aid and Disaster Management students affects their psychology positively. However, as their severity increases, their psychology is negatively affected.

Disaster preparedness perception, pyschological resiliences and empathy levels of nurses after 2023 Great Turkiye earthquake: Are nurses prepared for disasters: A risk management study

“…Karakış (2019), in their study examining the disaster preparedness and psychological resilience of nurses working in public hospitals, they concluded that as the disaster preparedness perceptions of nurses increase, their psychological resilience also decreases (Karakış, 2019). Demirbilek and Gökkaya (2022), in their study investigating the relationship between disaster preparedness and psychological resilience of students, found that as disaster preparedness proficiency increases, students' resilience also increases. In his study (Demirbilek & Gökkaya, 2022), Karakış (2019), determined that as the psychological resilience of nurses' increases, their perception of preparedness for disasters also increases.…”

“…Demirbilek and Gökkaya (2022), in their study investigating the relationship between disaster preparedness and psychological resilience of students, found that as disaster preparedness proficiency increases, students' resilience also increases. In his study (Demirbilek & Gökkaya, 2022), Karakış (2019), determined that as the psychological resilience of nurses' increases, their perception of preparedness for disasters also increases. Hong et al (2022), emphasized that there is a need for interventions to improve the disaster competence and psychological well-being of public health nurses.…”

“…Traumatic stress caused by disasters is a situation that needs to be emphasized, which significantly affects the effective implementation abilities of the aid teams and the quality of the service, and it is imperative to adopt a preventive approach in this regard (McCann et al., 2013). For this reason, information and training that will provide psychological preparedness before disasters is important in terms of ensuring the continuity of the functionality of nurses during disasters (Demirbilek & Gökkaya, 2022). Psychological resilience has been seen as an important buffer for individuals who are faced with negative events such as disasters, serving to alleviate or prevent psychological distress (Demirbilek & Gökkaya, 2022).…”

“…For this reason, information and training that will provide psychological preparedness before disasters is important in terms of ensuring the continuity of the functionality of nurses during disasters (Demirbilek & Gökkaya, 2022). Psychological resilience has been seen as an important buffer for individuals who are faced with negative events such as disasters, serving to alleviate or prevent psychological distress (Demirbilek & Gökkaya, 2022). It has been determined that the concept of resilience has been studied in different contexts such as divorced family children, adolescents at school, students adapting to university and women who have been subjected to violence.…”

“…For this reason, information and training that will provide psychological preparedness before disasters is important in terms of ensuring the continuity of the functionality of nurses during disasters (Demirbilek & Gökkaya, 2022). Psychological resilience has been seen as an important buffer for individuals who are faced with negative events such as disasters, serving to alleviate or prevent psychological distress (Demirbilek & Gökkaya, 2022).…”