Evaluation of disaster awareness and basic first aid levels of students reading at a health education university: A foundation university example

In this study, it was aimed to examine the relationship between first aid knowledge levels and disaster awareness levels of university students who study in the health departments of a university which provide health education. A total of 306 university students, including 233 women and 73 men, studying at Medical Faculty and Vocational Health School of Bezmialem Foundation University in the 2021-2022 academic years participated in the research. 'First Aid and Basic Disaster Consciousness Determination Questionnaire' was used to determine the first aid knowledge levels and basic disaster awareness of the students participating in the research. In the analysis of the obtained data, Mann Whitney U test, Kruskal Wallis H test and Spearman Correlation analysis were used in the SPSS 22.0 program. Findings: 9.7% of the students participating in the research are 18 years old, 28.2% are 19 years old, 42.7% are 20 years old, 10.4% are 21 years old, 9.1% are 21+ years old, % It was found that 35.3% were first-year students, 55.7% were second-year students, 4.2% were third-year students, and 4.9% were fourth-year students. At the end of the study, it was determined that the first aid knowledge level of the students was above the medium level and the basic disaster awareness level was high. It was determined that the students' views on first aid showed a significant difference according to the class of education and the variables of having received first aid training before (p<0.05). It was found that the level of disaster consciousness of the students differed significantly according to the unit where they studied, the unit where they received first aid training, their previous experience in a disaster, their previous first aid training, and the type of disaster they experienced (p<0.05). In addition, it was determined that there was a positive and significant relationship between students' first aid knowledge levels and disaster awareness levels (p<0.05). In conclusion, it can be said that as the level of first aid knowledge in university students who study in health departments is high, the level of basic disaster awareness increases.