Evaluation of disaster preparedness and belief levels of health personnel working in hospitals in Burdur province

Disaster is an event that continues from past to present. Their frequency and types are increasing due to reasons such as technological developments, global warming and population growth. Our country is considered a risky region in disaster events in terms of both its geographical and geopolitical location. Every year, we face many disasters, especially earthquakes, and there is a lot of loss of life. In our country, emphasis was placed on disaster management and search and rescue activities after the 1999 Marmara earthquake. Despite this, it seems that society and health personnel do not have sufficient awareness about the disaster. This brings disaster and its risks. This study aims to evaluate the disaster preparedness and belief levels of healthcare personnel working in hospitals in Burdur province. The research was analyzed with IBM SPSS v26 and IBM SPSS AMOS v22 programs. The demographic findings of the research were analyzed through frequency tables. Confirmatory Factor Analysis (CFA) was used for validity analysis of the General Disaster Preparedness Belief Scale used within the scope of the research, and Cronbach's Alpha (α) coefficient, which is the internal consistency coefficient, was used for reliability analysis. According to the results obtained with the General Disaster Preparedness Belief Scale used in the study, the disaster perception (Perceived Severity and Perceived Obstacles) of female health workers was found to be higher than that of men. It was determined that the perceived benefit of participants in the younger age group towards disaster preparedness was higher than the elderly. No significant differences were detected in factors such as occupation and education level, but some important findings were obtained on the basis of marital status and length of service. The findings obtained in the study were evaluated in the light of studies in the literature and their pros and cons were discussed. Based on the fact that there is no significant difference in education and different results are obtained in similar studies in the literature, it is concluded that the level of education does not have a significant effect on disaster preparedness and belief levels. Disaster preparedness levels, which are lower in studies in the literature, were found to be at the middle-upper level in our study. As a result, it is important to conduct more scientific research, measure the level of awareness of the society and identify the missing points in order to improve the disaster preparedness and belief levels of healthcare personnel. It is suggested that this awareness should be strengthened through active work such as drills and training.