Evaluating the vulnerability perception towards diseases among adult individuals residing in earthquake-prone areas

In this study, it aimed to determine the perceived vulnerability of adult individuals living in eartquake-prone areas to illnesses. The sample of the study consisted of 390 individuls who met the criteria for invlusion in the study, living in the Gaziantep eartquake zone and Adıyaman eartquake zone, affected by the eartquake that occured on February 6, 2023, between August 1, 2023 and September 1, 2023. Data fort he study were collected using the "Demografic Information Form" and the "Perception of Vulnerability to Disease Scale (PVDS)." The research data were analyzed using the Statistical Package for Social Sciences (SPSS) 25.0 program. The mean age of the eartquake survivors who participated in the study was found to be 32.84±11.99, with 67.9% being male, 52.8% being unmerried, and , 66.2% having an undergraduate degree or below. Before the eartquake, 56.4% of the participants had income equal to their ecpenses, whereas after the eartquake, this percentage decreased to 49.2%. The average score obtained from the perception of Vulnerability to Decrease Scale for eartquake survivors was 69.43±11.58 points. According to the sub-dimensions of the scale: the average scores fot the dimensions of perception of infection and avoidance of microbes were 29.73±6.95 and 39.69±7.45 points, respectively. As a result it was found that women were more suspectible to infections diseases compared to men, experiencing emotional distress due to the high risk of contracting disease, and having higher vulnerability perceptions towards diseases. Participants with lower income compared to expenses were found to be more susceptible to infectious diseases, experiencing emotional distress due to the high risk of contracting diseases, and having higher vurnerability perceptions towards diseases. Additionally, participants with a bachelor's degree or higher were found to experience emotional distress due to the high risk of contracting diseases.