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HKJCDPRI Scoping Study Related Publications

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HKJCDPRI Scoping Study Related Publications

The Hong Kong Jockey Club Disaster Preparedness and Response Institute published a Scoping Study entitled "Disaster Preparedness in Hong Kong – A Scoping Study" in 2016.

 

Three pieces of publications have been published with the findings of the Scoping Study done in 2016.

 

An article titled “Urban Disaster Preparedness of Hong Kong Residents: a territory-wide survey" was published on 21 April 2017 in the International Journal of Disaster Risk Reduction. 

Abstract
Objective

To assess the state of community disaster preparedness of Hong Kong residents and to identify factors associated with adequate preparedness behaviors.

Design
A cross-sectional survey using random Global Positioning System (GPS) spatial sampling conducted from the 8 August 2015 to 6 September 2015.

Participants
Hong Kong residents aged 18 years or more.

Method
A 19-item questionnaire was developed to assess respondents’ preparedness information acquisition, communication plan, evacuation strategies, first-aid and disaster knowledge, financial resilience, and preparedness behaviors. In total, 1023 residents were interviewed at 516 GPS locations. Multiple logistic regression was used to identify factors associated with preparedness behaviors, defined as having an evacuation kit in our study.

Results
Television remains the key information source, both before and during disaster, with young respondents also favoring social media and the internet and elder residents preferring television and radio. Many respondents did not have adequate first-aid knowledge and few showed correct responses to a typhoon warning signal. Only 39.4% had an evacuation kit. In logistic regression, correct responses to first aid questions and a typhoon warning signal were significantly associated with kit preparation (OR 2.023, 95% CI 1.233−3.318, p=0.005). Residents with elderly household member(s) were significantly less likely to do so (OR 0.554, 95% CI 0.333−0.922, p=0.023).

Conclusions
Community resilience-building programs should tailor information provision to different age groups with a focus on the family caregivers of elderly residents. There is a need to promulgate first-aid training and disaster education in the community.

 

A second article titled ‘How Do Doctors and Nurses in Emergency Departments in Hong Kong View Their Disaster Preparedness? A Cross-Sectional Territory-Wide Online Survey.' was published on 23 August 2017 in the Journal Disaster Medicine and Public Health Preparedness.

Abstract
Objectives
To assess the level of all-hazards disaster preparedness and training needs of emergency department (ED) doctors and nurses in Hong Kong from their perspective, and identify factors associated with high perceived personal preparedness.

Design
This study was a cross-sectional territory-wide online survey conducted from 9 September to 26 October, 2015.

Participants
The participants were doctors from the Hong Kong College of Emergency Medicine and nurses from the Hong Kong College of Emergency Nursing.

Methods
We assessed various components of all-hazards preparedness using a 25-item questionnaire. Backward logistic regression was used to identify factors associated with perceived preparedness.

Results
A total of 107 responses were analyzed. Respondents lacked training in disaster management, emergency communication, psychological first aid, public health interventions, disaster law and ethics, media handling, and humanitarian response in an overseas setting. High perceived workplace preparedness, length of practice, and willingness to respond were associated with high perceived personal preparedness.

Conclusions
Given the current gaps in and needs for increased disaster preparedness training, ED doctors and nurses in Hong Kong may benefit from the development of core-competency-based training targeting the under-trained areas, measures to improve staff confidence in their workplaces, and efforts to remove barriers to staff willingness to respond.

 

A third article titled 'Self-efficacy and barriers to disaster evacuation in Hong Kong' was published on 20 September 2017 in the International Journal of Public Health.

Abstract
Objectives
To investigate specific challenges to Hong Kong’s capacity for effective disaster response, we assessed perceived barriers to evacuation and citizens’ self-efficacy.

Methods
Global positioning system software was used to determine random sampling locations across Hong Kong, weighted by population density. The resulting sample of 1023 participants (46.5% female, mean age 40.74 years) were invited to complete questionnaires on emergency preparedness, barriers to evacuation and self-efficacy. Latent profile analysis and multinomial logistic regression were used to identify self-efficacy profiles and predictors of profile membership.

Results
Only 11% of the sample reported feeling prepared to respond to a disaster. If asked to evacuate in an emergency, 41.9% of the sample cited significant issues that would preclude them from doing so. Self-efficacy was negatively associated with barriers to disaster response so that participants reporting higher levels of self-efficacy cited fewer perceived barriers to evacuation.

Conclusions
Hong Kong has established effective strategies for emergency response, but concerns regarding evacuation and mobilisation remain. The findings indicate that improving self-efficacy for disaster response has potential to increase evacuation readiness.