Disaster Management Measures Adopted at Schools in Alexandria

Abstract

The concept of school safety is not limited to preventing the collapse of school buildings in disasters, and safety of teachers and students, but rather extends to meet the broader goal “disaster risk management”. Objective: The present study aimed to assess the disaster management measures adopted at schools in Alexandria, and to identify knowledge and practice of disaster and crisis committee members' about school disaster and crisis management plan and it's measures. Setting: Twenty one governmental schools affiliated to Ministry of education in Alexandria Governorate were included in the study. Subjects: The study comprised210 members of the selected schools' disaster and crisis committees. Tools: Three tools were utilized for data collection; Socio demographic characteristics and school record review for disaster management plan questionnaire, knowledge of committee members related to disaster management plan questionnaire and committee member’s practices related to disaster management questionnaire. Results: The study revealed that all assessed schools had disaster and crisis management plan, the majority of the members of the crisis and disaster committee were not oriented with its content, never dealt with any emergency, never checked on the emergency equipment placed, and most significantly, the available plans were not suitable in different emergency situations. Conclusion: It could be concluded that all assessed schools had disaster and crisis management plan. The majority of the study sample obtained unsatisfactory score for their knowledge and practice related to disaster and disaster management. The low score reflects deficiencies in all assessed aspects of information; lack of knowledge, lack of training and absence of motivation. Recommendations: A comprehensive standardized national preventive strategies for achieved safety measures in schools should be developed and implemented.