Knowledge Level of Medical Faculty Students on Earthquakes: The Case of Istanbul

Abstract

Earthquakes are natural disasters that cause significant loss of life and property. Raising awareness in society is crucial to mitigate these losses. It is particularly important for medical students in high-risk earthquake regions to know what to do during and after an earthquake, so they can protect themselves and provide necessary interventions to the affected individuals. This study aims to determine the knowledge levels and behaviors related to earthquakes among one of the medical faculty students. This cross sectional study was conducted with 196 students who were studying at the faculty of medicine and agreed to participate between October 2019 and July 2020. The study investigated the sociodemographic characteristics, preparedness for earthquakes, and earthquake knowledge levels of the participants. It was found that 148 (75.5%) of the participants had experienced an earthquake before, and 86 (43.9%) had not received any prior education about earthquakes. Participants answered between 7 and 16 questions correctly in the earthquake knowledge level assessment. The knowledge level of the group that received education (14.0±1.8) was statistically significantly higher than that of the group that did not receive education (12.7±2.8) (p=0.002). It was determined that 82.7% of the participants did not prepare an earthquake kit, 71.4% did not have an earthquake plan, and 59.7% did not know the emergency assembly point. These rates did not differ between those who had received earthquake education and those who had not. Despite the higher earthquake knowledge levels among the students who received education, both groups were found to be insufficient in taking necessary precautions against earthquakes. Training programs for students should not only focus on the transmission of information but also include methods aimed at achieving behavioral changes.