Disaster Preparedness of Persons Requiring Special Care Ages 75 Years and Older Living in Areas at High Risk of Earthquake Disasters: A Cross-Sectional Study From the Pacific Coast Region of Western Japan

Abstract

Objective: The aims of this study were to examine the preparedness of vulnerable people ages 75 years and older and to clarify the characteristics of older adults that are associated with disaster preparedness. Methods: We conducted interviews with persons requiring special care ages 75 years and older living in coastal communities of western Japan, where earthquakes and tsunami disasters are a concern. The survey included participant characteristics such as demographic indicators, physical function, health status, community involvement, and disaster preparedness. Binomial logistic regression analysis was performed with participant characteristics as independent variables and disaster preparedness as the dependent variables. Results: The characteristics related to disaster preparedness were age, family composition, cognitive function, level of interaction with neighbors, and participation in community activities. Conclusions: Being female, living alone, and having cognitive impairment were factors that led to decreased disaster preparedness. However, it was suggested that close human interactions in the community facilitated preparedness. Community engagement is crucial in reducing disaster damage and recovering effectively. In order to facilitate preparedness measures for persons requiring special care ages 75 and older, it is important to establish community preparedness.

Disaster Preparedness among Nepalese Residing in Japan: a Mini-Review

“…Similarly, previous studies have shown that the knowledge disaster preparedness is more than 50% in China and Japan while conducting a household survey however, the observed knowledge level was much lower among Nepalese in our study [16,17]. We also identified that Nepalese do not participate in community drills and practice sessions probably because of the lower Japanese language skills that they mentioned as the perceived barrier to access the health information in Japan [18]. Nepalese immigrants residing in other English speaking countries like the United Kingdom, The United States, Canada, etc.…”

Factors Associated with Knowledge of Evacuation Routes and Having an Emergency Backpack in Individuals Affected by a Major Earthquake in Piura, Peru

“…However, this differs from that reported in Iran, where households with four or fewer members are associated with higher disaster preparation and social trust [ 41 ]. A study of a sample of older adults found that the composition of their households was not related to knowledge of evacuation routes [ 20 ]. This finding could be explained by the influence of family members as a social group so that the number of members in the household would involve sharing a greater amount of information about earthquake preparation through family discussions [ 38 ].…”

“…Similarly, higher household income and education have been associated with good household preparedness for public health emergencies such as general disasters and infectious disease outbreaks [ 18 ]. In this sense, studies usually have a general approach to natural disaster prevention [ 5 , 11 , 17 , 18 ], while those that focus on earthquakes usually only describe variables such as sources of information, level of knowledge, attitudes, or perceptions [ 9 , 11 , 15 , 16 ], and some are even conducted on samples of parents, students, older adults, or health personnel [ 9 , 10 , 19 , 20 ]; therefore, there is still a lack of information about the culture of earthquake prevention in the general population and its associated factors. Our research question is the following: What are the frequency and factors associated with the knowledge of evacuation routes and having an emergency backpack?…”

Relationship between disaster prevention awareness and preparedness among residents living in mountainous areas of Japan

“…Motoyoshi, Takao, and Ikeda (2008) reported that the intentions of local disaster prevention behaviors were higher with a greater awareness of the community, such as whether residents were committed to local autonomous activities or how much they interacted with people in their neighborhood. Hattori, Isowa, Hiramatsu, Kitagawa, and Tsujikawa (2020) found that close human interactions in the community facilitated disaster preparedness.…”