Tuesday, March 25, 2008

DRR Education with 'new' families


I was thinking to day about DRR materials and education in particular as I was teaching a class too my 17 year old students, highlighting the need for education but also acknowledging that despite knowledge about earthquakes etc, simple safety advice is often ignored or people 'put off' doing anything about it. As part of my literature review for my PhD I have been examining psychology texts related to people making hazard adjustments in and around the home after public education programmes: "Much of the empirical research carried out in the USA, has examined how people rate their vulnerability in relation to the risks. In particular it has been found that many are aware of earthquake risks, for example, but that this is rated much lower in importance than perceived risks from crime and pollution. However anxiety about earthquakes coupled with an internal locus of control can lead to an increased rate of adjustment adoption. Additionally being married and having children also leads to greater adjustment adoption, but length of time lived in a place where hazards exist lead to less. This tends to beg the following question: Why haven’t Disaster Risk Reduction practitioners targeted ‘new’ families through ante and neo-natal groups, for instance, showing how simple adjustments can protect both them and their young family?"

Is this a fair question and are there any examples of this being carried out and if so what were the results? Is there any evidence for a change in hazards adjustments as a result?

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