Disaster Risk Education of Final Year High School Students, Requires a Partnership with Families and Charity Organizations: An International Cross-sectional Survey

Study/Objective: This multinational study of the terminal year of high school students aims to explore the relationship between engaging in discussions about disasters, as primary outcome, and the entities best situated to deliver Disaster Risk Education (DRE), in addition to a series of independent predictors identified in previous research. Background: The aim of Disaster Reduction Education (DRE) is to achieve behavioral change. Over the past two decades, educational activities have been developed based on unverified assumptions, while the literature has not identified any significant change toward disaster preparedness at the individual level. Previous research suggests that change is dependent on multiple independent predictors. This study describes the relationship of the perceived entity responsible for disaster education, disaster education per se, sex, and country-specific characteristics with students discussing disasters with friends and family, as a measure of proactive behavioral change in disaster preparedness. School lessons and a national educational program are essential, but it’s less clear which educational and delivery methods are best suited for DRE, which entities are best placed to engage with teenagers, and whether the assumptions that DRE can be learned like any other subject are true. Methods: A total of 3,829 final year high-school students participated in an international, multi-center prospective, crosssectional study using a validated questionnaire. Nine countries with different levels of disaster exposure, risk, and economic development were surveyed. Regression analyses examined the relationship between the likelihood of discussing disasters with friends and family and a series of independent variables. Results: While several independent predictors showed a significant main effect, DRE through school lessons in interaction with Family & Charity organizations had the highest predictive value. Conclusion: A behavioral change towards disaster preparedness in teenagers requires a synergistic partnership between different entities. DRE providers should engage with the entities with which the teenagers are more likely to collaborate, most and foremost, their families.