Disaster Risk Perception and Sustainable Earthquake Awareness Among Public and Private University Nursing Students

ABSTRACT Background This research was conducted in descriptive type to determine the disaster risk perception and sustainable earthquake awareness of nursing students studying at public and private universities. Methods The study sample consisted of 400 nursing students studying at one public and one private university. The research was conducted between April and May 2023. The data were collected using a Sociodemographic Form, University Students Disaster Risk Perception Scale (USDRPS), and Sustainable Earthquake Awareness Scale (SEAS). Data were collected online using a questionnaire created on Google Forms. Analyses included frequency, percentage, mean, standard deviation values, independent groups t ‐test, post‐hoc Tukey test, LSD, and ANOVA test. Results Of the students, 61.8% had a disaster experience, 17.4% had lost a relative in the disaster, and 76.8% did not consider themselves prepared for a possible disaster. In the study, the exposure sub‐dimension score of the disaster risk perception scale was found to be higher in students who had disaster experience than in those who did not ( p = 0.032). Nursing students from the private university had higher sustainable earthquake awareness scores than those studying at the state university ( p = 0.001). The mean scores of female students on the earthquake preparedness and preparation application sub‐dimensions showed a significant difference compared to the scores of male students ( p = 0.016). In the study, sustainable earthquake awareness total and earthquake preparedness sub‐dimension scores were higher in second‐year nursing students than in students of other years ( p = 0.042; 0.015). Those who had received disaster training had low scores on the uncontrollable sub‐dimension of the disaster risk perception scale, and high scores on the total SEAS and earthquake‐structure relationship, earthquake preparedness, and earthquake preparation application sub‐dimensions ( p < 0.05). Conclusions In the study, three out of four students did not find themselves prepared for disasters. Those who had disaster experience had higher disaster risk perceptions. Students who had received disaster‐related training had more positive earthquake preparedness, earthquake‐structure relationship, and earthquake preparation applications than those who had not. Students who were female and were in the second year had higher earthquake awareness. Studies can be carried out to inform people about the pre‐disaster and preparation stages to raise awareness about disasters at universities. Education on disaster management can be integrated into courses from the first years of university.