Earthquake knowledge level and sustainable earthquake awareness of university students

Abstract Health professionals have always had essential duties in earthquake events experienced from the past to the present. Possible earthquake expectations make sustainable earthquake awareness and attitudes of students, who are future healthcare professionals, influential. Therefore, this study aims to determine the relationship between the earthquake knowledge level of university students and their sustainable earthquake awareness levels. A descriptive-cross-sectional study was conducted in April 2023 with 546 students in the School of Health Services. Data were collected using the Student Information Form, Earthquake Knowledge Level Scale, and Sustainable Earthquake Awareness Scale. Percentage means standard deviations, Mann-Whitney U test, Kruskal-Wallis analysis, Bonferroni correction, Tamhane’s T2 test, and Spearman correlation analysis were used for data evaluation. Before answering the study questions, informed consent was obtained from the students after obtaining ethical committee approval. Among the participants, 82.1% were female, with a mean age of 20.78 ± 2.17. 55.7% of the students had experienced an earthquake, 19.2% had lost a loved one in an earthquake, and 5.5% had participated in earthquake response efforts. Students’ earthquake knowledge level was found to be above the midpoint, while sustainable earthquake awareness was found to be below the midpoint. The level of earthquake knowledge, knowledge of the distribution of earthquake zones and knowledge of earthquake effects were higher in those who took part in the earthquake. In males, knowledge of the distribution of earthquake zones was significantly higher. Knowledge of earthquake effects was significantly higher in those who experienced an earthquake and those who lost a relative in an earthquake. A positively moderate and significant correlation was found between earthquake knowledge level and sustainable earthquake awareness. The earthquake knowledge level of the students is medium, while their sustainable earthquake awareness needs to be higher. As the level of earthquake knowledge increases, sustainable earthquake awareness rises. The effect of earthquake experience on knowledge and awareness shows that applied training will contribute to sustainable earthquake awareness in society.