People with diabetes and related conditions may be vulnerable to disruptions caused by disasters. Evidence shows that this condition increases unpreparedness of patients in disasters.Reference Cefalu, Smith and Blonde 1 We investigated diabetes disaster preparedness of 371 diabetic patients in Hamadan, located in the west of Iran, via a cross-sectional study and convenience sampling method from November 2020-January 2021.
Data were collected by a questionnaire that contained questions on demographics and risk perception, disaster awareness, and disaster preparedness among participants.
Results showed that the mean age of participants was 55.25 (SD=12.79) years. Despite the vulnerability of diabetic patients in disasters, only 14 of 371 participants in the study had prepared a waterproof emergency bag in case of disaster, and only 1 participant had all the items needed for the emergency bag.
Despite emphasizing for disaster preparedness education for diabetic patients, 2 less than 25% of the diabetic patients in this study had received disaster preparedness education. Also, 56 patients (15%) had received emergency bag preparation education (training resources are shown in Table 1). Notably, 87.5% of those who received disaster preparedness education and emergency bag preparation education had emergency bags ready. Among trainees, compared to those who received no education about disaster preparedness, a higher percentage reported being aware of their region’s disaster management plans, considered themselves better prepared, and attributed disaster outcomes to a lack of preparedness.
Training resources frequency for emergency bag preparation*
* 56 participants (15% of diabetic patients) have received education regarding the preparation of an emergency bag.
** The total exceeds 100% because participants mentioned more than 1 training resource.
Significantly, participants older than 40 years old had received less education. In this study, 73% have comorbidity. Older patients, particularly those aged 65 and above, are vulnerable, and education increased disaster preparedness and maximized patients’ resilience.Reference Wyte-Lake, Claver and Der-Martirosian 3
Population aging, increasing diabetes prevalence, 4 inclination to receive disaster preparedness training, and enhancing preparedness with educational interventionsReference Najafi, Ardalan and Akbari 5 highlight the necessity of planning for disaster preparedness education. In this study, the resource of emergency bag preparation education with the highest frequency was provided by health care center staff. Reinforcing other sources and increasing the use of mobile phones (i.e., designing apps on this subject) could be beneficial in educating diabetic patients on disaster preparedness.
Acknowledgments
I would like to thank all study participants, as well as Dr. Alireza Panahi and his colleagues at Hamadan Diabetes Center. This study was an MPH degree thesis.
Author contribution
The authors confirm contribution to the paper as follows: study conception and design: MS and ZS, data collection: ZS, analysis and interpretation of results: AD-I and ZS, draft manuscript preparation: MS and ZS. All authors reviewed the results and approved the final version of the manuscript.
Funding statement
This study was funded by the Vice Chancellor for Research and Technology of Hamadan University of Medical Sciences (no: 9905213287).
Competing interests
The authors declare that there is no conflict of interest.
