Residents' Disaster Preparedness after the Meinong Taiwan Earthquake: A Test of Protection Motivation Theory

Because effective preparations are required to mitigate disaster impacts before implementing effective interventions, it is important to understand why people do or do not act on disaster preparedness. This study explores factors influencing residents' intentions and actual behaviors following the 2016 Kaohsiung Meinong earthquake in southern Taiwan. Protection Motivation Theory was used to develop a hypothesized model to test hypotheses regarding residents' disaster preparedness, and structural equation modeling (SEM) was used to test the model. Data were comprised of 286 valid responses from seven major administration areas in Tainan, Taiwan. Self-efficacy, response-efficacy, and obstacles were significantly correlated with behavioral intentions and actual disaster preparedness behaviors. SEM results revealed that (a) the model fit the data well, (b) the relationship between risk perception and response-efficacy was fully mediated by behavioral intention, and (c) self-efficacy and obstacles were partially mediated by behavioral intention. Behavioral intent and actual disaster preparedness behavior are related but not equal. The main factors affecting actual disaster preparedness behavior are self-efficacy and obstacles. Therefore, strategies like drills or workshops can improve disaster-preparedness knowledge and capabilities and reduce difficulties of implementing disaster preparedness. To improve health and well-being, healthcare providers should promote disaster preparedness by interventions to increase self-efficacy during disasters.