Relationship of knowledge and attitudes with disaster preparedness in high school students

Abstract

Introduction. Gamalama Volcano is one of the most active volcanoes in Indonesia. The eruption of Gamalama Volcano has direct or indirect dangers to the community, especially school students. The potential for casualties and loss of school infrastructure will increase if students do not follow suit when they are at school. The purpose of this study was to determine the relationship between knowledge and attitudes with disaster preparedness that affects students. Then find out the level of disaster preparedness in high school students. Research methods. The research is a descriptive correlational study, with a total sample of 162 students taken by purposive sampling technique at 4 high schools located in the disaster-prone area of Gamalama Volcano. Data analysis used quantitative descriptive analysis and correlation analysis. Results. The results show that there was a positive and significant relationship between knowledge and disaster preparedness in students (sig. 0.000 <0.01). Likewise, the relationship between attitude and student preparedness has a positive and significant relationship (sig. 0.000 <0.01). Meanwhile, the level of disaster preparedness among students was in the "ready" category, with the value of the preparedness index of 74.57. Conclusions. Knowledge, attitudes, and student disaster preparedness need to be improved, in order to reduce the loss of life and property during a disaster, especially schools located in disaster-prone areas. Then, real efforts from the government, local communities and non-governmental organizations are needed in the volcanic disaster risk reduction program.