Disaster Preparedness of Older People (SIMAH)

The Effect of the Disaster Preparedness Education Program Based on the Health Belief Model on the Disaster Preparedness of Older People in the Community: Cluster Randomized Controlled Trial

Disasters; It is an important public health problem of uncertain time, causing loss of life and property, having severe economic consequences, and causing serious health problems in the long term. In dealing with disasters, it is expected that measures to reduce the damage and losses caused by the hazards that the disaster may cause are taken during the disaster preparedness phase. For this reason, the individuals in the society should be educated before the disaster and their preparedness for the disaster should be ensured. While it is possible for young age groups to access information, participate in public education and self-learning, they need support for their preparedness for disasters because there is no disaster education program specific to older individuals. This project was designed as a single-blind (participant) randomized controlled study in order to examine the effect of the Disaster Preparedness Education Program (SIMAH) based on the Health Belief Model of older people in the society on their preparedness to disasters according to the active control group to which the public education materials prepared by the Disaster and Emergency Management Presidency (AFAD) will be given. The research was planned to be carried out in a total of six clusters in Antalya province Muratpaşa district and Konyaaltı district between October and December 2023 in older people houses, retirement cafes and district parks where older people are concentrated. The sample size was calculated as 66 older individuals (intervention: 33, control: 33). The SIMAH Program, which includes interactive group training for three months, public education materials prepared by AFAD, and reminder phone messages, will be applied to the initiative group. Public education materials prepared by AFAD will be given to the active control group in the same period. Outcomes will be measured with the Disaster Readiness Scale, the General Disaster Preparedness Belief Scale, and the Individual Disaster Preparedness Evaluation Form, before the intervention, after the training program, and three months later.

Study Overview

• Status: Completed
• Conditions: Older People; Disaster
• Intervention / Treatment: Behavioral: Disaster Preparedness Education Program; Other: Disaster and Emergency Management Presidency Education

• Study Type: Interventional
• Enrollment (Actual): 66
• Phase: Not Applicable

Contacts and Locations

Study Locations

• Turkey
  • Antalya, Turkey, 07058
    • Active Life Center, Retirement Coffees

Participation Criteria

Eligibility Criteria

• Ages Eligible for Study: Adult; Older Adult
• Accepts Healthy Volunteers: Yes

Description

Inclusion Criteria:

• Those who come to the places where the research will be carried out,
• Those aged 60 and over,
• Those who can speak and understand Turkish,
• Those who get 9 points or more from the Mini-Mental State Examination,
• Those who have and can use a smart phone,
• Those who have voluntarily agreed to participate in the study,
• One elderly person from the same household will be included in this study.

Exclusion Criteria:

-Those who have previously received disaster preparedness training will not be included in the study.

Study Plan

How is the study designed?

Design Details

• Primary Purpose: Prevention
• Allocation: Randomized
• Interventional Model: Parallel Assignment
• Masking: Double

Number of Arms

2

Arms and Interventions

Participant Group / Arm	Intervention / Treatment
Experimental: Disaster Preparedness Education Program (SIMAH)	Behavioral: Disaster Preparedness Education Program; The SIMAH Program includes interactive group training for three months, public education materials prepared by AFAD, and reminder phone messages will apply.; Other Names: SIMAH
Active Comparator: Disaster and Emergency Management Presidency (AFAD) Education Program	Other: Disaster and Emergency Management Presidency Education; Public education materials prepared by the Disaster and Emergency Management Presidency (AFAD) will give.; Other Names: AFAD

What is the study measuring?

Primary Outcome Measures

Outcome Measure	Measure Description	Time Frame
Disaster Readiness Scale	The minimum score that can be obtained from the scale is 13, and the maximum score is 52. As the score obtained from the scale increases, the level of disaster preparedness increases.	Change in Disaster Readiness Level at second week and third months from baseline
General Disaster Preparedness Belief Scale	A minimum of 31 points and a maximum of 155 points are taken from the scale. As the score obtained from the scale increases, the level of disaster preparedness belief increases.	Change in Disaster Preparedness Beliefs Level at second week and third months from baseline
Individual Disaster Preparedness Evaluation Form	The Individual Disaster Preparedness Evaluation Form consists of 31 items. This form has been prepared to evaluate individual disaster preparations, such as whether the mobile applications that the participants can use in case of disaster are installed on their phones, whether the disaster and emergency kit is prepared, whether arrangements are made in the home environment to prevent injuries during disasters, and whether disaster insurances are made to reduce the effects of disasters. As the score obtained from the form increases, the individual preparedness for the disaster increases.	Change in Individual Disaster Preparedness Level at third months from baseline

Collaborators and Investigators

• Sponsor: Akdeniz University

Study record dates

Study Major Dates

• Study Start (Actual): October 1, 2023
• Primary Completion (Actual): February 3, 2025
• Study Completion (Actual): February 3, 2025

Study Registration Dates

• First Submitted: April 26, 2023
• First Submitted That Met QC Criteria: May 5, 2023
• First Posted (Actual): May 16, 2023

Study Record Updates

• Last Update Posted (Actual): March 25, 2025
• Last Update Submitted That Met QC Criteria: February 3, 2025
• Last Verified: May 1, 2023

More Information

Terms related to this study

• Keywords: education; preparedness; health belief model
• Other Study ID Numbers: 007

Plan for Individual participant data (IPD)

• Plan to Share Individual Participant Data (IPD)?: UNDECIDED

Drug and device information, study documents

• Studies a U.S. FDA-regulated drug product: No
• Studies a U.S. FDA-regulated device product: No
• product manufactured in and exported from the U.S.: No