Wondering if disaster exercises really work? This research explores how these drills affect emergency responders' preparedness and perceptions. It places exercises in the broader context of disaster management, examining their links to planning and training. The analysis reviews potential exercise benefits and formulates hypotheses connecting exercise experiences with responders' views on planning, training, teamwork, network effectiveness, equipment, and job risk. Through a quasi-experimental design, the effects of two exercises—one involving hazardous materials and another mass casualties—were examined using professional firefighters as subjects. The results indicate that successful exercises can enhance perceptions of teamwork, training adequacy, response network effectiveness, job risk, and equipment adequacy. The study found the impact on perceived planning adequacy to be less clear-cut. These findings underscore the value of disaster exercises in bolstering emergency response capabilities. By improving teamwork and training perceptions, such exercises play a crucial role in ensuring effective disaster management and enhancing responder confidence and readiness.
Published in Disaster Prevention and Management: An International Journal, this study assessing the impact of disaster exercises fits directly within the journal's scope. By examining the effectiveness of exercises in enhancing emergency responders' preparedness, the research contributes to the journal's focus on disaster mitigation and management strategies, as well as to geography. anthropology. recreation: environmental sciences