Development, validation, and piloting of a questionnaire to examine personal disaster preparedness of people with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease

Abstract

The vast majority of literature on chronic disease and disasters focuses on chronic disease in general, and does not examine the unique needs and vulnerabilities of people with specific chronic diseases such as Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease (COPD). As the number of both disasters and people with chronic disease simultaneously increase, it is essential to examine whether individuals with chronic disease are preparing for disasters. This study sought to develop a questionnaire that assesses how people with COPD are preparing for disasters, and to examine questionnaire validity and reliability. This questionnaire was subsequently piloted to assess feasibility and gain preliminary data about how people with COPD are preparing for disasters and whether demographic variables influence general and disease-specific disaster preparedness. This questionnaire can be used as a tool by researchers or health professionals to determine how people with COPD are preparing for emergencies and disasters, and to support educational programming on disaster preparedness and COPD.