Investigation of the effect of disaster education on disaster awareness of patients with diabetes

Disasters are events that disrupt the health systems and social order of societies in multifaceted ways. Individuals with chronic diseases, especially diabetes, are at risk in disaster situations regarding vital issues such as medication supply, insulin administration, and nutrition. This study aimed to improve the preparedness level of individuals with diabetes by providing basic disaster training. The research was conducted to examine the effect of disaster training on the disaster awareness of diabetic patients. The research was conducted as a quasi-experimental, pre-test–post-test uncontrolled intervention design. The population consisted of diabetic patients hospitalized or receiving outpatient treatment at Kozluk State Hospital. The sample included 255 individuals who met the inclusion criteria and voluntarily agreed to participate. Data were collected face-to-face between April and September 2025. The Participant Information Form and Disaster Awareness Perception Scale were used as data collection tools. In this study, all participants were provided with training materials prepared by the researchers based on the literature. The training, which lasted 30-40 minutes, was given face-to-face to adult diabetic individuals over the age of 18. The training program, consisting of 38 slides, covered topics such as disasters, types of disasters, pre-disaster, disaster response, and post-disaster preparedness, diabetes, facilitating factors for diabetic IV patients in disaster situations, and access to health centers. A four-week application period was provided to allow for the integration of the training into daily life, after which the forms were completed again. Prior to the study, ethical committee approval, institutional permission, and participant consent forms were obtained. The results show that disaster training increased participants' awareness of general disaster information, communication, diabetes, and disaster-related issues.