The Effect of Virtual Reality Use on Disaster Literacy, Disaster Readiness and Disaster Resilience

NCT ID: NCT06565962

Last Updated: 2025-08-12

Basic Information

• Recruitment Status: COMPLETED
• Clinical Phase: NA
• Total Enrollment: 64 participants
• Study Classification: INTERVENTIONAL
• Study Start Date: 2024-09-15
• Study Completion Date: 2025-02-15

Brief Summary

Pre-disaster mitigation and preparedness activities are essential to reduce vulnerability in a community and protect people when disasters occur. Although disaster preparedness and protective behaviours have attracted the attention of scholars worldwide, there is no significant study on the preparedness, disaster literacy and disaster resilience of rural households. The aim of this study is to examine the effect of virtual reality use on disaster literacy, disaster preparedness and individual disaster resilience in adults living in rural areas.

Detailed Description

In recent years, there has been a significant increase in the number of natural disasters and the loss of life and property caused by disasters in the world and in Turkey. Turkey is a country where tectonic strata are commonly found. Besides, it has various natural disaster risks considering its geological features, topography and meteorological conditions. According to the statistics of the Disaster and Emergency Management Presidency (AFAD) for 2022, the natural disaster events that occurred in 2022 were as follows: 18 avalanches, 21,054 earthquakes, 859 landslides, 137 rock falls, 13 sinkholes, 450 floods/floods and 451 others, totalling 22,982. Considering the high physical and social vulnerability of Turkey, these disasters cause a high number of deaths, injuries and material losses. The solution to minimise the negative impacts of disasters is to be prepared for future disasters. For this reason, there is a need for raising awareness of the society about disasters and disaster risk avoidance skills known as disaster literacy. Disaster literacy is defined as the degree to which individuals read, understand and use information to make informed decisions and follow instructions in the context of mitigation, preparation, response and recovery. In the last decade, virtual reality-based training in disaster preparedness has been increasingly recognised as an important and new alternative to the traditional methods of real-life drills and tabletop exercises. Many studies have described various applications of virtual reality in disaster training. In 2001, Freeman et al. published the use of a virtual reality patient simulation system to teach emergency response skills to US Navy medical personnel. In 2007, a virtual simulation-enhanced triage training for Iraqi medical personnel was described. The following year, immersive simulation for training first responders to mass casualty incidents,mass casualty triage skills using immersive three-dimensional virtual reality, and critical care skills during mass casualty drills. The equivalence of VR simulators with live actor-patient use in directing actions has been demonstrated and simulation for team training and assessment using virtual worlds. In 2009, game-based mass casualty burn training was proposed.In 2011, Cone et al. published a comparison of SALT and SMART triage systems using a virtual reality simulator with paramedic students. Finally, virtual simulation as a teaching method for nursing students has been shown to reinforce learning and improve retention of learning over time.

Pre-disaster mitigation and preparedness activities are essential to reduce vulnerability in a community and protect people when disasters occur. Although disaster preparedness and protective behaviours have attracted the attention of scholars worldwide, there is no significant study on the preparedness, disaster literacy and disaster resilience of rural households. The aim of this study is to examine the effect of virtual reality use on disaster literacy, disaster preparedness and individual disaster resilience in adults living in rural areas.

Conditions

Public Health Nursing

Study Design

• Allocation Method: RANDOMIZED
• Intervention Model: PARALLEL
• Primary Study Purpose: PREVENTION
• Blinding Strategy: SINGLE

Study Groups

Education group

Participants randomly assigned to groups will first be given data collection forms as a pre-test. Then, the experimental group will be given an 8-week disaster risk reduction programme. They will watch PowerPoint presentations prepared by researchers and training videos prepared by AFAD on disaster preparedness, disaster response and post-disaster issues using virtual reality glasses. Subsequently, data collection for the post-test will be conducted for both groups. After a three-month follow-up period, follow-up test surveys will be collected from both groups.

Group Type: EXPERIMENTAL

Educaiton group

Intervention Type: OTHER

The experimental group will be made to watch training videos prepared by AFAD on disaster preparedness, disaster moment and post-disaster by using virtual reality goggles.

Control group

The control group will receive standard care. The standard care programme will include brochures and guidance. Personal information form, disaster literacy scale, disaster preparedness scale and disaster resistance scale will be used to collect the research data.

Group Type: OTHER

control group

Intervention Type: OTHER

The control group will receive standard care. The standard care programme will include brochures and guidance.

Interventions

Educaiton group

The experimental group will be made to watch training videos prepared by AFAD on disaster preparedness, disaster moment and post-disaster by using virtual reality goggles.

Intervention Type: OTHER

control group

The control group will receive standard care. The standard care programme will include brochures and guidance.

Intervention Type: OTHER

Eligibility Criteria

Inclusion Criteria

• Over 18 years of age
• Not having received structured disaster training before
• Not having any mental problems that prevent them from completing the questionnaires

Exclusion Criteria

• Participants wants to leave the study
• Incomplete filling of survey forms

• Minimum Eligible Age: 18 Years
• Maximum Eligible Age: 65 Years
• Eligible Sex: ALL
• Accepts Healthy Volunteers: Yes

Sponsors

FATOŞ UNCU

OTHER

Sponsor Role: lead

Responsible Party

FATOŞ UNCU

assistant professor

Responsibility Role: SPONSOR_INVESTIGATOR

Locations

Firat University

Elâzığ, , Turkey (Türkiye)

Countries

Turkey (Türkiye)

Other Identifiers

FU-SBF-FU-03

Identifier Type: -

Identifier Source: org_study_id