Differences in perceptions and intentions to engage in various disasters by curriculum and social roles of belonging: A cross-sectional study of japanese medical students

Disasters are becoming more common, and their types are more varied. This study investigated the extent to which medical students would like to be engaged in different types of disasters to help recruit personnel for future disaster medicine based on a web-based survey. The study was conducted using existing data. The results revealed that students' intention to engage in chemical, biological, radiological, nuclear, and explosive (CBRNE) disasters was lower than that for natural and human-made disasters. Further, differences in the intention to engage and perceptions of disasters were observed. We hypothesized that the low intention to engage in CBRNE disasters was due, in part, to the fear of unknown hazards and the belief that disaster response was not part of the university's mission. Thus, each university should train healthcare professionals to imagine the social needs of risk and educate students about their intention to engage. This can be done by showing them how to respond to disasters in the social context of societal demands in case of future crises.