Determination of the disaster preparedness perception level of health personnel who participated in the February 6 Kahramanmaraş Earthquake

Objective: This study aims to determine the disaster preparedness perception levels of healthcare professionals who participated in the February 6th Kahramanmaraş Earthquake and to assess their status during potential disaster situations. Materials and Methods: To ascertain healthcare professionals' disaster preparedness perception levels, analyses were also conducted on variables such as gender, age, education level, length of service, and professional status. This study was prepared using descriptive research, a type of quantitative analysis. The research data were collected via a questionnaire from 288 healthcare professionals, utilizing the "Perception Scale of Disaster Preparedness for Personnel Working in Pre-hospital Emergency Health Services." The scales administered to healthcare professionals consisted of a total of 28 questions covering five dimensions: desire (willingness), importance, self-efficacy, intervention skills, and benefit. Findings: No statistically significant difference was found in the desire, importance, self-efficacy, intervention skills, benefit, and disaster preparedness levels of the participants based on gender, age, and length of service variables. However, desire, self-efficacy, intervention skills, and disaster preparedness levels showed a significant difference according to the participants' educational status. Participants with a master's degree or higher had a greater desire level compared to undergraduate graduates. Furthermore, high school graduates demonstrated higher self-efficacy levels than undergraduate graduates, and their intervention skills levels were also higher than those with associate's and bachelor's degrees. High school graduates were also found to have higher disaster preparedness levels compared to associate's degree graduates. Conclusion: It was determined that gender has no effect on healthcare professionals' readiness levels for disaster situations. Education levels are highly important in their readiness for disaster situations, and their length of service in the profession affects their performance during encountered disaster situations.