Community awareness about disaster preparedness: Principal component analysis (PCA)

Abstract

Background and Aim: Responsibility for disaster preparedness is not limit- ed to healthcare institutions and healthcare providers; communities must also be involved. Knowledge of community members' awareness of disaster preparedness will enhance and strengthen a community's resilience to disaster. This study therefore explored factors related to community members' perceptions of disaster. Methods: A cross-sectional study was conducted, and principal component analysis (PCA) was used to extract essential factors from the data. Questionnaires were used to collect ordinal (yes; no) and Likert scale (ranging from 1 ≤ strongly disagree to 5 ≤ strongly agree) data from visitors to the Department of Applied Medical Sciences at Taif University. The questions were designed to understand how participants prepare for dis- asters. Descriptive analysis and PCA were conducted using a PCA extraction method. Varimax rotation was used with Kaiser normalization, and loading on the factor had to be above 0.40. Results: Of the participants sampled, 383 (65.20%) respond- ed to the survey. The majority were male, and just over a quarter were female. Community members were found to lack emergency and disaster kits, safety measures, and fire extinguishers in their homes. In total, three factors were extracted by the PCA: (1) perception of government efforts, (2) readiness of community members, and (3) general knowledge regarding disasters. Conclusions: This study showed a lack of preparedness for and awareness of disasters. It is therefore recommended that the government facilitate and educate community members to ensure that all families have a well-established disaster plan.

References

1. 1.Gil-Rivas V, Kilmer RP. Building community capacity and fostering disaster resilience. Journal of Clinical Psychology. 2016;72(12):1318–32.
2. 2.Ludin SM,Arbon PA. Improving community disaster resilience through scorecard self-testing. Disaster Prevention and Management: An International Journal. 2017. 130 Majmaah Journal of Health Sciences ,Vol. 9, Issue 1, January - 2021, Jumadi ulAwwal - 1442 Community awareness about disaster preparedness: Principal component analysis (PCA)
3. 3.Coetzee C, Van Niekerk D. Should all disaster risks be reduced? A perspective from the systems concept of the edge of chaos. Environmental Hazards. 2018;17(5):470–81.
4. 4.Alshehri SA, Rezgui Y, Li H. Public perceptions and attitudes to biological risks: Saudi Arabia and regional perspectives. Disasters. 2016;40(4):799–815.
5. 5.Kotani H, Yokomatsu M, Ito H. Potential of a shopping street to serve as a food distribution center and an evacuation shelter during disasters: Case study of Kobe, Japan. International Journal of Disaster Risk Reduction. 2020; 44:101286.
6. 6.Rebmann T, Strawn AM, Swick Z, Reddick D. Personal disaster and pandemic preparedness of US human resource professionals. J Biosafety Health Educ. 2013;1(102):2.
7. 7.Bhandari RB, Okada N, Knottnerus JD. Urban Ritual Events and Coping with Disaster Risk a Case Study of Lalitpur, Nepal. Journal of Applied Social Science. 2011;5(2):13–32.
8. 8.Workgroup ONH. Household natural hazards preparedness survey. Eugene, USA: Community Service Center, University of Oregon. 7007.
9. 9.Al Thobaity A, Alamri S, Plummer V, Williams B. Exploring the necessary disaster plan components in Saudi Arabian hospitals. International Journal of Disaster Risk Reduction. 2019; 41:101316.
10. 10.Al Thobaity A, Plummer V, Innes K, Copnell B. Perceptions of knowledge of disaster management among military and civilian nurses in Saudi Arabia. Australasian Emergency Nursing Journal. 2015;18(3):156–64.
11. 11.Al Thobaity A, Plummer V, Williams B. What are the most common domains of the core competencies of disaster nursing? Ascoping review. International emergency nursing. 2017; 31:64–71.
12. 12.Al ThobaityA, Williams B, Plummer V. A new scale for disaster nursing core competencies: development and psychometric testing. Australasian emergency nursing journal. 2016;19(1):11–9.
13. 13.Kruger J, Chen B, Heitfeld S,Witbart L,BruceC,PittsDL.Attitudes,motivators, andbarrierstoemergencypreparednessusing the 2016 Styles Survey. Health promotionpractice.2018:1524839918794940. Majmaah Journal of Health Sciences ,Vol. 9, Issue 1, January - 2021, Jumadi ulAwwal - 1442 131 Community awareness about disaster preparedness: Principal component analysis (PCA)
14. 14.Shapira S,Aharonson-Daniel L, Bar- Dayan Y, Sykes D, Adini B. Knowledge, perceptions, attitudes and willingness to report to work in an earthquake: A pilot study comparing Canadian versus Israeli hospital nursing staff. International emergency nursing. 2016;25:7–12.
15. 15.Kline RB. Principles and practice of structural equation modeling: Guilford publications; 2015.
16. 16.Williams B, Onsman A, Brown T. Exploratory factor analysis: A five-step guide for novices. Australasian Journal of Paramedicine. 2010;8(3).
17. 17.SPSS.BMCorp.Released2016.IBM SPSSStatisticsforWindows,Version24.0. Armonk, NY: IBM Corp. Source: https:// www-01.ibm.com/support/docview.wss?uid=swg21476197; 2016
18. 18.Smith WJ. Crisis response kit and method of emergency preparation. Google Patents; 2009.
19. 19.Adams JG,Walls RM. Supporting the Health Care Workforce During the COV- ID-19 Global Epidemic. Jama. 2020.
20. 20.LeBlanc JC, Pless IB, King WJ, Bawden H, Bernard-Bonnin A-C, Klassen T, et al. Home safety measures and the risk of unintentional injury among young children: a multicentre case–control study. Cmaj. 2006;175(8):883–7.
21. 21.Bajow N, Djalali A, Ingrassia PL, Ragazzoni L, Ageely H, Bani I, et al. Evaluation of a new community-based curriculum in disaster medicine for undergraduates. BMC medical education. 2016;16(1):225.
22. 22.Baker LR, Cormier LA. Disaster preparedness and families of children with special needs: a geographic comparison. Journal of community health. 2013;38(1):106–12.
23. 23.Odai ED, Azodo CC, Chhabra KG. Disaster Management: Knowledge, Attitude, Behavior,Willingness, and Preparedness among Nigerian Dentists. Prehospital and disaster medicine. 2019;34(2):132–6.
24. 24.Alshadadi T. Evaluation for the potential for disaster risk reduction in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia: Northumbria University; 2017. [25]Al-SaggafY,SimmonsP.Socialmedia in Saudi Arabia: Exploring its use during two natural disasters. Technological Forecasting and Social Change. 2015;95:3–15. 132 Majmaah Journal of Health Sciences ,Vol. 9, Issue 1, January - 2021, Jumadi ulAwwal - 1442 Community awareness about disaster preparedness: Principal component analysis (PCA)
25. 25.Alazawi Z, Alani O, Abdljabar MB, Altowaijri S, Mehmood R, editors.Asmart disaster management system for future cities. Proceedings of the 2014 ACM international workshop on wireless and mobile technologies for smart cities; 2014.