Health Education for Hui Ethnicity in a Disaster-Prone Rural Setting in Gansu Province, China

Background and Objectives                                                                

Datan Village, which locates in Gansu Province, China, is a rural, remote, disaster-prone, in poverty Hui minority-based community. Disaster preparedness was identified to be one of the concerns from the health needs assessment conducted in August 2010. Health education campaign was implemented in January 2011 to enhance their awareness towards the issue.

Research Objectives

1. To enhance knowledge towards disaster preparedness though Knowledge, Attitude and Practice (KAP) model
2. To document the outcome of the health intervention via questionnaires
3. To identify the lessons learnt and improve the implementation of similar community-based health program in the future

This project targets to examine the knowledge gain after health education on disaster preparedness.

Methods

Health education based on KAP model on disaster literacy was developed in January 2011. A face-to-face close-ended pre- and post-questionnaires were used to evaluate the outcome of education. χ² analysis was conducted to examine predictors and differences in ethnic minority group in knowledge change.

Results

All participants (n=133) had experienced some forms of disasters whilst 88.2% had their daily living affected by disasters, only 32.4% got their disaster emergency kits (kits) prepared. Post education survey indicated that all participants thought the talk was useful for improving their knowledge and believed that preparation of kits was important. 97.1% would prepare their kits and are much confident in dealing with the next disaster.

Conclusion

This project empowers remote community in life-saving knowledge in disaster preparedness and provides a platform for public health personnel to gain knowledge in implementation of similar community-based health intervention in the future. It is recommended to deal with the mental health aspect and coping method issues for future disaster preparedness intervention.