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Cited by 31Disaster Management and ResilienceDisaster Response and ManagementEarthquake and Disaster Impact Studies

Knowledge, attitude, practice and perceived barriers of natural disaster preparedness among Nepalese immigrants residing in Japan

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Bhandari, Aliza K. C., Takahashi, Osamu·2022·BMC Public Health
DOI 10.1186/s12889-022-12844-3PMC PMC8918343
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Abstract

Background: Natural disasters have increased during the last several decades all over the world. Due to its geographical and climate conditions, Japan has long been vulnerable to several natural disasters. Coping with disasters is a major challenge overall and even harder for foreigners residing in Japan. Thus, the objective of this study was to examine the perceived knowledge, attitude, practice and perceived barriers of disaster preparedness among Nepalese immigrants in Japan. Methods: A cross-sectional study was conducted among Nepalese immigrants residing in Japan with an online survey questionnaire. The questionnaire was validated and then administered. The participants were recruited via Facebook for this survey. Bivariable and multivariable logistic regression analyses were conducted to examine the factors associated with the perceived knowledge, attitude and practice of Nepalese immigrants regarding disaster preparedness. Results: A total of 404 respondents were analyzed in this study and among them two-third were male. We found that the mean score of disaster preparedness practice was lowest than the knowledge and attitude (mean$$\pm SD$$±SD= 15.86$$\pm$$±5.52) as evidenced by the majority of the participants not being prepared for disaster situations and a limited proportion had ever taken necessary natural disaster preparedness measures. Japanese language was identified as the major barrier in assessing the knowledge, attitude and practice regarding disaster preparedness and was significantly associated with the knowledge level of disaster preparedness after adjusting for some socio-demographic covariates. (aOR: 1.84, 95% CI: (1.04 – 3.25)). Conclusions: This study observed that the perceived knowledge and practices regarding natural disasters are very poor while barriers to access these are substantial among Nepalese immigrants in Japan. As Japanese language was identified as a major barrier, the availability of language translation services in every health care sector also in the government offices of Japan might encourage people to learn more about disaster preparedness.

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  • Language barriers and unequal access to official disaster information are important contributors to preparedness disparities among foreign residents in Japan.

    “These findings align with broader research on foreign residents in Japan, which has identified language barriers and unequal access to official disaster information as important contributors to preparedness disparities [41,42].”

    From A comparative study on Earthquake Preparedness of Japanese and International Students in a Nankai Trough Earthquake-threatened Area in Shikoku, Japan (2026) · cites this paper as [41]

    The Results identify language barriers and information deficits among Nepalese immigrants, while the Background says official disaster information is seldom available in Nepali. These passages support the proposed barriers, but the study does not establish preparedness disparities across foreign residents generally; the Discussion cautions that its findings may not generalize even to all Nepalese immigrants in Japan. (LLM, conf=0.86)

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Cited by

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Authors
Bhandari, A. K. C., & Takahashi, O.
Affiliations
St. Luke's International University (JP)
Corresponding author
Bhandari, Aliza K. C.
ORCID
Venue
BMC Public Health
Publisher
Springer Science and Business Media LLC
Published
2022-03-12
Volume
22
Issue
1
Pages
492-492
ISSN
1471-2458 (ISSN-L)
DOI
10.1186/s12889-022-12844-3
PMC
PMC8918343
OpenAlex
W4220868218
Cited by
31
References
1
Citations by year
2026: 7 · 2025: 10 · 2024: 7 · 2023: 6 · 2022: 1
FWCI
7.60
Type
journal article
Language
en
Open access
Licence
Locations
  • BMC Public Health (publishedVersion, cc-by)
  • PubMed Central (publishedVersion, cc-by)
  • PubMed (publishedVersion)
  • DOAJ (DOAJ: Directory of Open Access Journals) (submittedVersion, cc-by-sa)
Topics
  • Social Sciences › Sociology and Political Science › Disaster Management and Resilience
  • Health Sciences › Health Professions › Emergency Medical Services › Disaster Response and Management
  • Social Sciences › Transportation › Earthquake and Disaster Impact Studies
Keywords
natural disaster preparedness, Nepalese immigrants, knowledge, attitudes and practices, perceived barriers, language barriers, Japanese language, disaster risk
MeSH terms
Natural Disasters, Cross-Sectional Studies, Disaster Planning, Female, Humans, Japan, Health Knowledge, Attitudes, Practice, Male, Nepal, Surveys and Questionnaires, Emigrants and Immigrants

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