Earthquake emergency preparedness: Perceptions of minority indigenous peoples

Many indigenous tribes reside within main earthquake impact zones in Taiwan, since they mostly live in mountainous areas. The Austronesian minority is only 2% of Taiwan's population, but they are heavily affected by natural disasters. The objective of this study was to compare indigenous and non-indigenous perspectives on emergency preparedness and response. The survey population was selected intentionally from health care professionals, community residents, and community volunteer workers from all regions of Taiwan. A total of 143 indigenous and 230 non-indigenous participants were given an anonymous self-administered questionnaire. Among the participants, 11.1% of the indigenous and 52.4% of the non-indigenous participants were health professionals. Regarding attitudes towards earthquake preparedness, about 79.1% to 99.2% of the participants responded correctly and no ethnic difference was found. However, more indigenous respondents believed less impact was caused by the aftershock of a big earthquake (47.6% vs. 31.7%, p <.01). Of note, more than half of the indigenous participants agreed that there should be special consideration for female health in terms of refugee facilities and procedures (54.8%), disaster education (50.3%) and gender differences in lodging arrangements for people displaced by disaster (53.4%). Significant ethnic differences in this regard were observed. The findings suggest tailoring cultural and gender-appropriate approaches to formulate disaster preparedness strategies and policies.