The evaluation of the education for earthquake preparation addressed to middle school students.

OBJECTIVE: To investigate the effectiveness of the 'Are We Prepared for an Earthquake?' education provided bynurses to students of sixth and seventh grades. METHODS: The quasi-experimental study was conducted in Kemalpasa district of Izmir, Turkey, from October 2015 to May 2016, and comprised students of sixth and seventh grades at six middle schools in the 2015-16 academic year. Data was collected using 'Are We Prepared for an Earthquake?' questionnaire that included questions about socio-demographic variables, earthquake knowledge test, and family disaster preparation plans checklist. The score ranged from 0 to 20. An interactive packet education programme consisting of class presentation, game and animated videos was delivered and post-intervention scores were compared with baseline. RESULTS: Of 1151 students, 559(48.5%) were in the sixth grade, and 592(51.4%) were in the seventh. The overall mean earthquake knowledge and family disaster preparedness scores increased significantly post-intervention (p-0.001).. CONCLUSIONS: Targetted training created a significant change in both the knowledge level regarding earthquakes and the family disaster preparedness plans.