Akademik Veri Yönetim Sistemi
Akdeniz Tıp Dergisi, cilt.11, sa.3, ss.371-381, 2025 (TRDizin)
Objective: First aid instructors play a vital role in disaster preparedness, response, and recovery processes, making it crucial to understand the factors affecting their disaster literacy levels. This study aims to investigate the factors influencing the disaster literacy levels of first aid instructors.
Material and Methods: This cross-sectional study involved 179 first aid instructors residing in Bursa, Turkey. Data were collected using a Demographic Information Form and the Disaster Literacy Scale (DLS). Binary logistic regression was used to evaluate the factors affecting the DLS scores and its sub-dimensions.
Results: Of the participants, 66.5% were female, 25.7% were nurses, and 50.8% had more than 6 years of teaching experience. The average age of the participants was 39.22 ± 9.07 years, and the mean DLS score was 36.39 ± 6.61. The sub-dimension scores of the DLS ranged from 35.4 ± 8.46 to 38.62 ± 6.66. Males (OR=0.33, CI=0.15-0.75), emergency medical technicians (OR=3.18, CI=1.13-8.98), and other healthcare workers (OR=3.32, CI=1.16-9.55) showed lower competency in preparedness. Participants who had received disaster training had higher knowledge in mitigation/prevention (OR=2.81, CI=1.27-6.22), preparedness (OR=2.37, CI=1.05-5.35), recovery/rehabilitation (OR=3.12, CI=1.39-7.05), and overall disaster literacy (OR=2.70, CI=1.22-6.01). Members of non-governmental organizations (NGOs) had higher knowledge in mitigation/prevention (OR=2.64, CI=1.02-6.33), preparedness (OR=3.44, CI=1.30-9.11), and recovery/rehabilitation (OR=2.67, CI=1.04-6.88) compared to non-members.
Conclusion: This study identifies key factors affecting disaster literacy among first aid instructors, highlighting the importance of disaster training and NGO membership in enhancing preparedness and response capabilities. There is a need for further studies to improve disaster literacy levels, particularly in specific sub-dimensions, among first aid instructors. Targeted training programs are recommended to increase disaster preparedness levels.