Emergency Preparedness on Campus: Improving Procedural Knowledge and Response Readiness

Abstract Recent disasters and acts of violence underscore the importance of informing campus communities about emergency preparedness and how to minimize harm and loss of life by taking protective actions. This project developed and assessed the effectiveness of an emergency preparedness video in increasing emergency preparedness and response knowledge on a college campus. The participants were 222 (89 male, 133 female) undergraduate students at Western Washington University who either watched or did not watch the emergency preparedness video and completed a survey assessing emergency preparedness and response knowledge. The results indicated that participants who watched the video were more knowledgeable and felt more responsible for preparing and responding to an emergency than those who did not watch the video. The findings show tangible benefits to developing an emergency preparedness video for the university. Higher education institutions should consider developing a video that communicates information specifically relating to their campus and finding ways to promote viewership of the video.