The Model of Volunteer Development for Basic Response to Disaster in the Community, Yala Province

Abstract

This research and development study aimed to: 1) determine the opinion of Yala Province residents about disasters, and the idea of developing a group of volunteers for providing a basic response to disaster victims in the community, 2) develop a model for the recruitment and training of volunteers for basic response to disaster victims in the community, and 3) study the effectiveness   of the volunteer development model on basic response to disaster victims in the community.

The samples were reported according to the stages of the study. The first stage was the study of the opinions of Yala 15 community leaders on disasters and volunteer development for basic response to disaster victims. The second stage was to develop the model of volunteer development for basic response to disaster victims in the community. The samples were 18 people who comprised the model development team. The third stage was to study the effectiveness of the volunteer development model on basic response to disaster victims in the community with 30 volunteers. Research instruments included: 1) a question guideline for the focus group, 2) a guideline for brainstorming, 3) two questionnaires on knowledge and motivation for basic response to disaster victims in the community, with content validity indexes of .98 and .90, respectively. Kuder-Richardson for knowledge of questionnaire was .81, while Cronbach’s alpha coefficient for the motivation questionnaire was .99. There was also 4) an assessment form of the basic response skills to disaster victims of the volunteers, with a content validity index of .96, and inter-rater reliability between .97      to .98.  Qualitative data were analyzed by content analysis, and quantitative data were analyzed by descriptive statistics and a t-test.

The study showed that people in the community perceived the severity of potential disasters and public dangers at a good level, as well as the importance of preventing them fully of their potential. They agreed there should be a project to develop volunteers for basic response to disaster victims in the community. The model for the development of volunteers for basic response to disaster victims in the community is composed of building up awareness about participation in disaster prevention, raising the consciousness of being volunteers, selecting qualified volunteers, training by workshops, and rehearsal of disaster action plans. After testing the model, the knowledge, motivation, and skills in basic response to disaster victims in the community of volunteers had significantly improved (p-value<.05).

Volunteerism has played an important role in the survival of society in disaster situations. Developing volunteer spirit to have the knowledge and skills to help the injured in various disaster situations before the emergency action team arrives will reduce the severity, disability, and fatalities from disasters.