Implications for Preparedness for Disasters in Developing Countries for Health Education: A Literature Review

In recent years, there has been an increase in the number of small to large scale disasters in different parts of the world, affecting more people than ever, claiming thousands of lives, displacing millions of people, and destroying billions of dollar-worth of property globally. Studies have noted that disasters can happen anywhere, but about eighty-five per cent of those exposed to disasters reside in developing countries. These observations and reports have made it expedient for communities and nations to start building capacities and developing strategies and programs to respond to disasters or emergencies with their own resources, both human and material, without relying solely on aid international community. Despite increasing rates of disasters globally, most developing countries lag behind in preparedness to handle emergencies like disasters effectively, efficiently and appropriately. This is attributed to a number of factors, one of which is low disaster literacy level among the public. Hence, the need for health education to raise level of awareness and knowledge of disasters and improve attitudes and skills of individuals, communities, authorities and organizations in disaster prevention and reduction. A popular saying in disaster management is that “we cannot stop natural disasters but we can arm ourselves with knowledge to save lives and property†. This statement emphasizes great role health education in disaster preparedness. The study intended to review from studies preparedness for disasters in developing countries: implications of health education. The study utilized conventional subject-search method, and a supplementary search method of citation/unstructured searching technique to review twenty-nine papers. The results showed that the resilience and capacity for disaster preparedness of any countries depends largely on the level and qualities of disaster awareness and education of the people, and the study also confirmed and added more information to already done research work the vital roles health education plays in all phases of preparedness for disasters. The study concluded that effectiveness and efficiency of disaster preparedness activities of nations are predicated on the level of disaster literacy and health education base of the people.