Public engagement during full‐scale exercises: Dimensions of trust and community resilience

Abstract

The aim of this exploratory study is to understand the potential benefits to and limitations of inclusion of members of the community in Full Scale Exercises (FSX) that simulate disaster responses, with particular emphasis on volunteer trust, confidence, and community resilience. As these events contribute to skill maintenance and development of responders, it is also important to understand what additional benefits they potentially present in terms of engagement with the public and local communities. Better recognition of this impact on trust and confidence aids organisers and planners, while also providing clearer utility of investment and resources.Pre-and postintervention surveys, including quantitative and qualitative elements, were given to volunteer role-players who took part in an FSX. Sixty-five completed the pre-exercise survey and 24 completed the postexercise survey. An additional 126 responses were received for a casualty role-player survey. Correlations were applied to the statistics while qualitative elements were examined using thematic analysis. Findings demonstrated that involvement in the FSX created opportunities for learning but that community faith in emergency services could be diminished if the purpose of the FSX is not clearly communicated. Overall reduced rates in volunteer confidence could be explained by gaining increased perspective into the complexities of disaster management. The implication is that FSXs can meaningfully enhance community learning, trust, and resilience but only if the community involvement is properly and holistically managed. This is among the first studies to take the opportunity to examine the learning outcomes for volunteers of an FSX.Recommendations and increased awareness of this impact are important for future organisers, to maximise the benefits of their exercises and ensure that planning takes into consideration this often-overlooked component.

The Role of Trust in Disaster Risk Reduction: A Critical Review

“…In studies concerning the preparedness phase, the close connection between trust and DRR becomes even more evident. More precisely, when institutions are perceived as reliable and community members have increased access to information and resources for preparedness, this empowers community members to better prepare during this phase [4,48]. As a result, the level of trust in institutions significantly impacts the degree to which the citizens actively participate in disaster prevention and preparedness measures [33].…”

“…Qualitative studies highlight that, in the preparedness phase, there may be increased awareness of risks, which can lead to a reduction in trust as individuals become aware of the complexity of emergency and disaster management [4]. Accordingly, Marin and colleagues [49] stressed the importance of disaster experts establishing collaborative and participatory relationships with local communities and decision makers.…”

“…Consequently, trust transcends individual boundaries and maintains a close association with the concept of community [4,8]. As elucidated by Walker and colleagues [9], trust is essential for forming and maintaining connections between individuals who may not interact otherwise.…”

“…In recent years, there has been an increasing scholarly interest in the examination of trust within the domain of disaster risk reduction (DRR) [1][2][3][4]. Researchers hailing from diverse disciplines, including economics, law, psychology, and social sciences, have collectively recognized trust as a critical factor impacting the level of community response when confronted with natural disasters.…”

“…It can be affected by factors such as individual knowledge and the perceived ability of emergency workers [17]. Accordingly, institutional trust with respect to disaster management can be bolstered through the enhancement of public knowledge as a tool within emergency preparedness plans, and the perception of emergency workers' competence (entailing confidence in their ability to devise effective strategies, engage with the community, and fortify community resilience) plays a pivotal role in fostering institutional trust [4]. Conversely, when the processes of forecasting and mitigating damages fail to be efficiently executed, there exists the potential for the erosion of trust among disaster victims [18].…”