In disaster situations, the elderly are considered to be a particularly vulnerable population. Preparedness is the key to reduce post-disaster damage. There is limited research in middle-income countries on how well elderly emergency department (ED) patients are prepared for disaster situations. The objective of this study was to determine the attitudes and behavior of elderly ED patients toward disaster preparedness. This study was a cross-sectional face-to-face survey at one urban teaching hospital in Bangkok, Thailand between August 1st and September 30th, 2016. Patients aged 60 and older who presented to the ED were included to this study. We excluded patients who had severe dementia [defined as Short Portable Mental State Questionnaires (SPMSQ) > 8], were unable to speak Thai, had severe trauma and/or needed immediate resuscitation. The survey instruction was adapted from previous disaster surveys. This study was approved by the Vajira Institutional Review Board (IRB). A total of 243 patients were enrolled. Most of them were female [154 patients (63.4%)]. The median age was 72 [Interquartile range (IQR) 66–81] years and the most common underlying diseases were hypertension [148 patients (60.9%)] and diabetes [108 patients (44.4%)]. The majority of patients [172 patients (72.4%)] reported that they had had some teaching about disaster knowledge from a healthcare provider and had experienced a disaster [138 patients (56.8%)]. While 175/197 (81.8%) patients who had underlying diseases reported that they had a medication supply for disaster situations, only 61 (25.1%) patients had an emergency toolbox for disasters. Most patients (159, 65.4%) did not know the emergency telephone number, and 133 (54.7%) patients reported transportation limitations. While most Thai elderly ED patients reported having a medication supply for disaster situations, many lacked comprehensive plans for a disaster situation. Work needs to be done to improve the quality of preparedness in disaster situations among elderly patients. Future research should focus on preparedness knowledge regarding evacuation, and shelter/residence for older patients.

中文翻译：

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泰国老年急诊科患者的灾难准备：患者观点调查

在灾难情况下，老年人被认为是特别脆弱的人群。做好准备是减少灾后损失的关键。在中等收入国家中，关于老年急诊科（ED）患者为灾难情况做好准备的研究很少。这项研究的目的是确定老年ED患者对备灾的态度和行为。该研究是2016年8月1日至9月30日在泰国曼谷的一家城市教学医院进行的面对面横断面调查。本研究纳入了60岁及以上的急诊科患者。我们排除了患有严重痴呆[定义为短期便携式精神状态问卷（SPMSQ）> 8]，无法说泰语，遭受严重创伤和/或需要立即复苏的患者。该调查指示改编自先前的灾难调查。这项研究已得到瓦吉拉机构审查委员会（IRB）的批准。共有243例患者入组。其中大多数是女性[154名患者（63.4％）]。中位年龄为72岁[四分位间距（IQR）66-81岁]，最常见的基础疾病是高血压[148例（60.9％）]和糖尿病[108例（44.4％）]。大多数患者（172例患者（72.4％））报告说，他们从医护人员那里获得了有关灾难知识的一些知识，并且经历了灾难[138例患者（56.8％）]。虽然有175/197（81.8％）名患有基础疾病的患者报告说他们有救灾药品，但只有61名（25.1％）患者拥有应急工具箱。大多数患者（159，65。4％的人不知道紧急电话号码，而133名（54.7％）的患者报告了交通限制。尽管大多数泰国老年ED患者报告称有救灾药品，但许多人缺乏针对灾情的全面计划。需要开展工作以提高老年患者在灾难情况下的准备质量。未来的研究应集中在与疏散有关的准备知识，以及老年患者的住所/住所方面。