AUTHOR=Samarkandi Osama A. , Aljuaid Mohammed , Abdulrahman Alkohaiz Mohammed , Al-Wathinani Ahmed M. , Alobaid Abdullah Mohammed , Alghamdi Abdullah A. , Alhallaf Mohammed A. , Albaqami Nawaf A. TITLE=Societal vulnerability in the context of population aging—Perceptions of healthcare students' in Saudi Arabia JOURNAL=Frontiers in Public Health VOLUME=10 YEAR=2022 URL=https://www.frontiersin.org/journals/public-health/articles/10.3389/fpubh.2022.955754 DOI=10.3389/fpubh.2022.955754 ISSN=2296-2565 ABSTRACT=Background and objective:

Healthcare professionals have an important role in increasing awareness and protecting populations from natural disasters. This study aimed to assess the perception of healthcare students toward societal vulnerability in the context of population aging.

Methods

This is a cross-sectional questionnaire-based study conducted among students from two different health colleges over 4 months from February to May 2021. Descriptive analysis was used to assess the perception, and inferential testing was used to assess the various association of knowledge toward societal vulnerability using SPSS.

Results

The majority of respondents were male (69.2%), between 20 and 24 years of age (91.2%), and studying for a nursing degree (76.6%). Only 4.7% had previously completed a previous degree. The mean score of perceptions on the Aging and Disaster Vulnerability Scale among nursing students was 42.5 ± 10.3 (0–65) while for paramedicine 48.1 ± 9.7 (0–65). Similarly, the mean score among male students was 44.1 ±10.5. The mean PADVS total score for the cohort was 43.8 (SD = 10.5). The mean PADVS total score for nursing students was significantly lower than paramedic students (42.5 vs. 48.1; p < 0.001). There was no correlation between PADVS total score and gender, age, area of residence, or previous degree.

Conclusion

Our results indicate that Saudi healthcare students perceive older adults are somewhat vulnerable to disasters with significant differences between nursing and paramedic students. Furthermore, we suggest informing emergency services disaster response planning processes about educational intervention to overcome disasters in Saudi Arabia and other countries.