Abstract
Large-scale emergencies such as natural and human-made disasters (e.g., hurricanes, terrorist attacks) have profound, deleterious effects on human well-being, including loss of life, physical injury, psychological trauma, and financial devastation. Personal or household emergency preparedness may mitigate the impact of these disasters. Effective and psychometrically sound measures of preparedness are critical to identifying individual differences in these behaviors and testing theories of emergency preparedness. However, there are few personal preparedness measures appropriate for all disaster types, and fewer still with evidence of reliability and validity. This paper describes the development and psychometric validation of an Emergency Preparedness Checklist (EPC), using three separate samples -- university undergraduates, adults living in the DC Metro Area, and a nationwide sample of adults with physical disabilities ? to demonstrate its potential generalizability. Across samples, the EPC had high levels of internal consistency and demonstrated concurrent validity. In addition, research with the EPC has shown that it is related to other constructs (e.g., perception of disaster threat, self-efficacy for emergency preparedness) as expected based on disaster theories. These findings support the EPC?s utility in research on disasters and preparedness.
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All authors contributed to the study’s conception and design. N.W.T, C.A.R, P.J.M, J.E.M. and K.M.B. performed material preparation and data collection. N.T and C.A.R performed analyses. Nicholas Talisman wrote the manuscript’s first draft, and all authors commented on previous versions. All authors read and approved the final manuscript.
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Appendix A
Appendix A
Emergency preparedness candidate items
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1.
Water (one gallon per person, per day -- 3-day for evacuation, 2-weeks for home).
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2.
Food (non-perishable, easy-to-prepare -- 3-day for evacuation, 2-week for home).
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3.
Flashlight.
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4.
Battery-powered or hand-crank radio.
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5.
Extra batteries.
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6.
First aid kit.
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7.
Medical items & Medications (7-day supply).
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8.
Multi-purpose tool.
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9.
Sanitation and personal hygiene items.
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10.
Family and emergency contact information.
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11.
Family and emergency contact information
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12.
Personal documents (e.g., passports, birth certificates, insurance policies)
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13.
Extra cash
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14.
Emergency blanket
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15.
Map(s) of the area
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16.
Baby supplies (bottles, formula, baby food, diapers)
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17.
Pet supplies (collar, leash, ID, food, carrier, bowl)
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18.
Two-way radios
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19.
Extra set of car &house keys
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20.
Manual can opener
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21.
Whistle
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22.
N95 or other masks
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23.
Waterproof Matches
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24.
Rain gear
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25.
Towels
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26.
Work gloves
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27.
Tools/supplies for securing your home
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28.
Extra clothing, hat and sturdy shoes
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29.
Plastic sheeting
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30.
Duct tape
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31.
Scissors
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32.
Household liquid bleach
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33.
Entertainment items
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34.
Blankets or sleeping bags
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35.
A generator (with at least 20 feet of indoor/outdoor extension cord & fuel)
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36.
Car charger, power banks, and adapters for home use equipment and devices
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37.
Battery-powered, backup smoke alarms and carbon monoxide (CO) detectors
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38.
Appliance thermometers for your refrigerator and freezer
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39.
Physics encourages my creativity and innovative approach to problem-solving.
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40.
A surge protector power strip
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41.
Insurance cards and medical records (e.g., immunizations, vaccinations)
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42.
Current personal care plans
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43.
Items for snow and ice (e.g., rock salt, sand or kitty litter, snow shovels)
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44.
Dry, seasoned wood
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45.
Emergency car supply kit (e.g., jumper cables, ice scraper, warm clothing & blanket)
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46.
Plastic sheeting
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47.
Garbage bags & plastic ties
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48.
Soap, hand sanitizer and disinfecting wipes to disinfect surfaces
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49.
Cash or traveler’s checks
-
50.
Fire extinguisher
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51.
Personal hygiene items
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52.
Pen/pencil and Paper
-
53.
Paper cups, plates, paper towels and plastic utensils
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Talisman, N.W., Rohrbeck, C.A., Moore, P.J. et al. Measuring personal emergency preparedness: validation and application of the emergency preparedness checklist. Nat Hazards (2024). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11069-024-06529-w
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11069-024-06529-w