Özet:

Objective: Chronic diseases, which are among the leading causes of death in the world, also negatively affect the quality of life, social and economic well-being of individuals and attract individuals to the spiral of poverty. When poverty is combined with the adverse conditions of disasters/emergencies, vulnerability increases. This study aims to reveal the vulnerability of individuals with chronic diseases to disasters. Material and Methods: The population of the study consists of 26.240 patients registered with the Izmir City Home Health Services, and 251 patients were determined by a simple random sampling method with a known sample formula. SPSS 22.0 program was used in the analysis of the data, and the chi-square test was used to explain the relationships between the variables. Findings: Of the patients in the study group, 35.9% were Syrian nationals, 55.8% were 65 years and older, 49% were illiterate, 98% were physically disabled and 63.3% had more than one chronic disease. It was determined that 89.62% of them used drugs every day. When the physical disability that causes evacuation problems in disaster/emergencies is evaluated, 246 of 251 people (98%) stated a total of 474 physical disabilities. It was determined that 109 (43.4%) people had experienced a disaster before, the rate of those with disaster/emergency bags was 9.2% and the rate of those with earthquake insurance was 16.3%. Results: As a result of the study, it was revealed that people with chronic diseases, disabilities, or those who need medical care are not prepared for disasters/emergencies and their vulnerability is high. The findings show that current health problems should be handled in separate process management for disaster/emergencies, together with special requirements in the structuring of disaster preparedness, response, and evacuation activities.

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