Age differences in reactions to citizen training as a preparedness measure

With the exception of the youngest and the oldest participants (G1, G2 and G10 - see source document for full reference), at least a third of participants in all groups expressed their interest in attending disaster preparedness and response courses. Interestingly, in particular those participants who could have been expected to have the least spare time available due to full-time work and family duties, showed the greatest willingness to learn and improve their skills. Accordingly, only one outlined this as a reason for non-participation “I am too busy with my children, work and household” (G6-P1) whereas the others declared that “I have four children and they have lots of social activities, but you have to set priorities, so I would like to learn more about this” (G6-P5), “you just need to find a way to make time for that next to children and work” (G6-P8), and even indicating the fact of having children as one of the main motivators for participation: “If you have children, you should know what to do in an emergency” (G6-P4). Only two participants, despite their explicit interest in the topic, gave “difficult work hours” (G4-P3) as a reason for not attending. All others expressed more general time constraints, and in particular some of the youngest participants explained that they would not want to invest their leisure time, unless they are paid for; two older participants felt that they would not be able to attend due to their physical limitations.

Cultural Factors: Open-mindedness

Hazards: Natural hazards, Man-made non-intentional hazards or emergency situations, Man-made intentional hazards

Disaster Phases: Preparedness, Response

Types of Actors Concerned: Local authorities, Healthcare and emergency services

Recommendations:

• Develop culturally aware disaster preparedness and response training
• Training programmes for citizens of all ages should be developed. These are necessary to increase citizens’ knowledge of and preparedness in case of disasters. The training activities should be organized on the basis of a training strategy and should take various forms, ranging from emergency drill to workshops