Change in Survival Attitudes of Participants Before and After Disaster Life Support Training

Libby E. Washburn
Dr. Carol Cox, Faculty Mentor

Disasters can include a variety of events where the needs are greater than the capacity of the resources. In these situations, people may behave in an unsafe manner. Responders to these disasters must be able to survive the situation in order to help others. It has been suggested that there are certain survival personality traits associated with surviving disasters. The purpose of this study was to examine any change in survival attitudes of participants before and after a disaster life support training. This study included 58 medical students from a rural medical school. Pre- and post-Basic Disaster Life Support course participation and the Survival Attitude Scale (SAS) were completed by participants. Analysis included a paired-sample t-test. With the exception of two items, all mean scores increased between the pre- and post-tests, indicating positive changes. Disaster preparedness courses can increase survival personality traits to help responders survive in disaster situations. 

Keywords: Public Health , Disaster Training

Topic(s):Health Science

Presentation Type: Oral Presentation

Session: TBA
Location: TBA
Time: TBA