Department of Human Development and Family Studies, Lubbock, Texas.
Department of Construction Engineering, Lubbock, Texas.
Am J Prev Med. 2014 Jan;46(1):89-93. doi: 10.1016/j.amepre.2013.08.020.
Tornadoes, with warnings usually issued just minutes before their touchdowns, pose great threats to properties and people's physical and mental health. Few studies have empirically investigated the association of family emergency preparedness planning and observed protective behaviors in the context of tornadoes.
The purpose of this study was to examine predictors for the action of taking shelter at the time of tornadoes. Specifically, this study investigated whether having a family emergency preparedness plan was associated with higher likelihood of taking shelter upon receiving tornado warnings. This study also examined the effects of socioeconomic status and functional limitations on taking such actions.
A telephone survey based on random sampling was conducted in 2012 with residents in Tuscaloosa AL and Joplin MO. Each city experienced considerable damages, injuries, and casualties after severe tornadoes (EF-4 and EF-5) in 2011. The working sample included 892 respondents. Analysis was conducted in early 2013.
Logistic regression identified emergency preparedness planning as the only shared factor that increased the likelihood of taking shelter in both cities and the only significant factor in Joplin. In Tuscaloosa, being female and white also increased the likelihood of taking shelter. Disability was not found to have an effect.
This study provided empirical evidence on the importance of having a family emergency preparedness plan in mitigating the risk of tornadoes. The findings could be applied to other rapid-onset disasters.
龙卷风通常在其登陆前几分钟发出预警，对财产和人们的身心健康构成巨大威胁。很少有研究从实证角度研究在龙卷风背景下家庭应急准备规划和观察到的保护行为之间的关系。
本研究旨在检验在龙卷风发生时采取避难措施的行为的预测因素。具体而言，本研究调查了是否制定家庭应急准备计划与收到龙卷风警报时更有可能采取避难措施之间是否存在关联。本研究还探讨了社会经济地位和功能限制对采取此类行动的影响。
2012 年，在阿拉巴马州塔斯卡卢萨市和密苏里州乔普林市进行了基于随机抽样的电话调查。这两个城市在 2011 年经历了严重的龙卷风（EF-4 和 EF-5）后，都遭受了相当大的破坏、人员伤亡和财产损失。工作样本包括 892 名受访者。分析于 2013 年初进行。
逻辑回归确定应急准备规划是增加两个城市采取避难措施的可能性的唯一共同因素，也是乔普林唯一的显著因素。在塔斯卡卢萨市，女性和白人身份也增加了采取避难措施的可能性。残疾并没有发现有影响。
本研究为制定家庭应急准备计划在减轻龙卷风风险方面的重要性提供了实证证据。研究结果可应用于其他突发性灾害。
