Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, National Center on Birth Defects and Developmental Disabilities, Atlanta, GA.
University of Minnesota Twin Cities, Medical School, Minneapolis, MN.
Disaster Med Public Health Prep. 2020 Aug;14(4):449-458. doi: 10.1017/dmp.2019.62. Epub 2019 Aug 6.
Natural disasters are becoming increasingly common, but it is unclear whether families can comprehend and use available resources to prepare for such emergencies. The objective of this study was to evaluate the literacy demands of risk communication materials on natural disasters for US families with children.
In January 2018, we assessed 386 online self-directed learning resources related to emergency preparedness for natural disasters using 5 literacy assessment tools. Assessment scores were compared by information source, audience type, and disaster type.
One-in-three websites represented government institutions, and 3/4 were written for a general audience. Nearly 1-in-5 websites did not specify a disaster type. Assessment scores suggest a mismatch between the general population's literacy levels and literacy demands of materials in the areas of readability, complexity, suitability, web usability, and overall audience appropriateness. Materials required more years of education beyond the grade level recommended by prominent health organizations. Resources for caregivers of children generally and children with special health care needs possessed lower literacy demands than materials overall, for most assessment tools.
Risk communication and public health agencies could better align the literacy demands of emergency preparedness materials with the literacy capabilities of the general public.
自然灾害越来越频繁，但目前尚不清楚家庭是否能够理解并利用现有资源为这类突发事件做准备。本研究旨在评估针对美国家庭（有孩子）的自然灾害应急准备风险沟通材料的文化程度要求。
2018 年 1 月，我们使用 5 种文化程度评估工具，对 386 个在线自学资源进行评估，这些资源与自然灾害应急准备有关。根据信息来源、受众类型和灾害类型对评估得分进行比较。
三分之一的网站代表政府机构，四分之三的网站面向普通受众。近五分之一的网站没有指定灾害类型。评估得分表明，在可阅读性、复杂性、适宜性、网络可用性和总体受众适宜性等方面，材料的文化程度要求与普通民众的文化程度水平不匹配。与知名健康组织推荐的年级水平相比，材料需要超出规定年级水平的受教育年限。对于大多数评估工具来说，针对儿童照顾者的资源以及有特殊医疗需求的儿童的资源，其文化程度要求低于总体材料。
风险沟通和公共卫生机构可以更好地使应急准备材料的文化程度要求与公众的文化程度能力相匹配。
