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Effectiveness of Community Participation in Earthquake Preparedness: A Community-Based Participatory Intervention Study of Tehran

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  11 January 2016

Ensiyeh Jamshidi ,
Reza Majdzadeh ,
Maryam Saberi Namin ,
Ali Ardalan ,
Behdad Majdzadeh  and
Elham Seydali
Ensiyeh Jamshidi
Affiliation:
Community Based Participatory Research Center, Iranian Institute for Reduction of High-Risk Behaviours, Tehran University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran
Reza Majdzadeh
Affiliation:
Community Based Participatory Research Center, Iranian Institute for Reduction of High-Risk Behaviours, Tehran University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran
Maryam Saberi Namin*
Affiliation:
Vice Chancellery of Research, Tehran University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran
Ali Ardalan
Affiliation:
Department of Epidemiology, Disaster & Emergency Health Academy, Tehran University of Medical Sciences, and Harvard Humanitarian Initiative, Harvard University, Cambridge, Massachusetts
Behdad Majdzadeh
Affiliation:
Community Based Participatory Research Center, Iranian Institute for Reduction of High-Risk Behaviours, Tehran University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran
Elham Seydali
Affiliation:
Vice Chancellery of Research, Bushehr University of Medical Sciences, Bushehr, Iran.
*
Correspondence and reprint requests to Maryam Saberi Namin, MD, MPH, Flat 9, 7th floor, No. 1547, Tehran University of Medical Sciences Research Centers Building, North Kargar Av, Enghelab Sq, Tehran, Iran (e-mail: [email protected]).
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Abstract

Objective

The aim of this study was to evaluate the effectiveness of a community-based participatory intervention on earthquake preparedness in Tehran.

Methods

This community-engaged research was conducted during 2011 to 2013. An intervention and a control neighborhood were chosen through systematic cluster sampling. In the intervention group 305 households and in the control group 314 households were sampled for pre- and post-assessment surveys. A participatory intervention was designed on the basis of consultation with the community advisory board and was implemented by trained volunteers. Changes in outcome variables in the intervention and control groups were detected in terms of knowledge, attitude, and practice. Pearson chi-square tests and covariance regression were used to evaluate the effectiveness of the intervention.

Results

The results showed that the frequency of earthquake experience in the intervention and control groups was 69.2% and 79.0%, respectively. Moreover, the mean difference scores in knowledge, attitude, and practice in the intervention and control groups before and after the intervention were significant (P<0.001).

Conclusions

A participatory intervention effectively improved disaster preparedness at a community level. To ensure sustainability, the participatory approach should be integrated into public health disaster planning. (Disaster Med Public Health Preparedness. 2016;10:211–218)

Keywords

earthquakescommunity participationemergency preparednesscommunity-engaged researchcommunity-based participatory intervention
Type
Original Research
Information
Disaster Medicine and Public Health Preparedness , Volume 10 , Issue 2 , April 2016 , pp. 211 - 218
Copyright
Copyright © Society for Disaster Medicine and Public Health, Inc. 2016 

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