KNOWLEDGE, ATTITUDE AND READINESS TO PRACTICE DISASTER PREPAREDNESS AMONG HEALTHCARE PROFESSIONALS IN MYANMAR: ADAPTATION AND VALIDATION OF DISASTER PREPAREDNESS EVALUATION TOOL

Abstract

Disaster management globally emphasizes the need for effective preparedness and response strategies, particularly within the healthcare systems, to mitigate the impact of disasters.  Myanmar is highly vulnerable to disasters, underscoring the need to assess healthcare professionals’ knowledge, attitude and readiness to practice (KAP) in alignment with the national framework named Myanmar Action Plan on Disaster Risk Reduction (MAPDRR).  However, Myanmar lacks the assessment tool for disaster preparedness of healthcare professionals.  The Disaster Preparedness Evaluation Tool (DPET) was adapted into a Myanmar version (DPET-M) to fill the research gap.  The adapted DPET-M was then evaluated by seven experts using a scale-level content validity index (S-CVI).  To assess its psychometric properties, 303 healthcare professionals from public and private healthcare institutions participated in a cross-sectional survey in August 2024.  The findings demonstrated that 62% of participants had moderate knowledge, 38% had high knowledge and no participant was in the low category.  Attitude scores showed 54% and 46% of the participants with high and moderate score respectively, indicating a strong willingness to engage in disaster preparedness activities.  Readiness to practice among the participants was moderate (54%), with low readiness only in 1% and the remaining with high readiness.  Prior disaster training and workplace settings were significantly found to influence KAP scores.  The adapted DPET-M demonstrated strong reliability, with a Cronbach’s Alpha of 0.94 and high Composite Reliability, confirming its suitability for assessing healthcare professionals’ disaster preparedness and offering a critical tool to strengthen Myanmar’s disaster resilience.