Factors Influencing Collaborative Activities between Non-Professional Disaster Volunteers and Victims of Earthquake Disasters

Abstract

BackgroundAssistance from non-professional disaster volunteers (hereinafter, volunteers) is essential for disaster victims to recover physically and rebuild their lives; however, disaster victims in some areas are reluctant to accept assistance from volunteers. This study explored factors that may influence collaborative activities between volunteers and victims of earthquake disasters.MethodsFrom July to September 2008, a self-reporting questionnaire survey was conducted with all 302 leaders of neighborhood associations in a city within Niigata Prefecture at the time of the Niigataken Chuetsu-oki Earthquake in 2007. Each factor was determined based on the Health Belief Model. Multiple regression analysis was conducted, using collaborative activities as the objective variable.ResultsFrom 261 valid responses received (response rate 86.4%), 41.3% of leaders collaborated with volunteers, and 60.2% of associations had residents who collaborated with volunteers. Collaboration with volunteers was significantly and positively related to perceived severity of an earthquake disaster (standardized partial regression coefficient β = 0.224, p<0.001) and neighborhood association activities during the earthquake disaster (β = 0.539, p<0.001). A positive and marginally significant relation was found between such collaboration and sense of coherence within a community (β = 0.137, p = 0.06), social capital (β = 0.119, p = 0.08), and perceived benefits (β = 0.116, p = 0.09).ConclusionCollaboration between disaster victims and volunteers during the response to an earthquake may require the preemptive estimation of damage by residents during normal times and the enhancement of neighborhood association activities during a disaster. For residents to have such estimation abilities, public institutions should provide information related to anticipated disaster damage and appropriate disaster prevention training and education. In addition, residents should create a disaster prevention map with other residents. Lastly, promoting neighborhood association activities may require the participation of many residents in disaster drills and education as well as a preemptive discussion of neighborhood activities during a disaster.

Sense of coherence modifies the effect of overtime work on mental health

“…Responses to each question were scored on a Likert-type scale ranging from 1 to 7, with higher scores indicating stronger SOC. In Japanese studies, the Cronbach's alpha of the SOC-UTHS was ranged from 0.82 to 0.84 7,8) ; furthermore, it was significantly associated with the SOC-13 8) . Psychological distress was evaluated by the 28-item version of the General Health Questionnaire (GHQ) 9) .…”

“…SOC was assessed using a shortened version of Antonovsky's SOC questionnaire, the University of Tokyo Health Sociology version of the SOC scale (SOC-UTHS) 7,8) . Responses to each question were scored on a Likert-type scale ranging from 1 to 7, with higher scores indicating stronger SOC.…”

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Extreme events and climate change: the post-disaster dynamics of forest fires and forest storms in Sweden

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