Urban Disaster Risk Literacy - CCOUC - Collaborating Centre for Oxford University and CUHK for Disaster and Medical Humanitarian Response

Urban disaster risk literacy and preparedness in a Chinese community

Disaster risk literacy refers to the ability to identify, understand, interpret, and communicate disaster risk-related information. Disaster preparedness, on the other hand, focuses on the ability and readiness to respond to emergency situations arising from natural disasters. Studies from many countries have demonstrated the potential impact of physical, mental, and psychological first- aid training on increasing disaster preparedness. Therefore, recognizing potential disaster risks and actual preparation for natural disasters may reduce the physical, psychological, and societal impact brought on by these unexpected natural phenomena.

Despite the importance of understanding population disaster risk literacy and preparedness for policy development and administration, little is known about the level of disaster risk literacy in urban Chinese communities such as Hong Kong. To fill this knowledge gap, a telephone survey was conducted to achieve six objectives:

To assess the disaster risk literacy among the Hong Kong population;
To assess the perceived need for first-aid training;
To assess the prevalence of first-aid training among the Hong Kong population;
To explore the relationship between disaster risk literacy and first-aid training;
To characterize the first-aid training received; and
To analyse the relationship between self-perceived disaster preparedness, first-aid training, and disaster risk literacy.

The survey was conducted among the non-institutional Cantonese-speaking population in Hong Kong. The results will be used to inform policy makers and emergency response agencies as they develop policies and protocols for responding to natural disasters.

Project Duration
Since 2012

Funding
This project was supported by the CCOUC seed grant.