How Does ChatGPT Contribute to Improving University Students' Psychological Preparedness for Natural Disasters and Perceived Disaster Risk?: a Randomized Controlled Trial
How Does ChatGPT Contribute to Improving University Students' Psychological Preparedness for Natural Disasters and Perceived Disaster Risk?: a Randomized Controlled Trial
The study aims to contribute to the design of new approaches in enhancing disaster risk perception and the improvement of intervention strategies in this field by identifying the different levels of psychological preparedness among individuals.
Type, Location, and Time of the Study
This study is a randomized controlled trial that will be conducted prospectively in a cross-sectional design. It will take place at Kütahya Health Sciences University, Simav Vocational School of Health Services, during the Fall semester of the 2024-2025 academic year, involving students enrolled in the "Emergency and Disaster Management" courses.
Population and Sample The population of this study will consist of second-year students enrolled in the Fall semester of the 2024-2025 academic year at Kütahya University of Health Sciences, Simav Vocational School of Health Services (https://oidb.ksbu.edu.tr/index/sayfa/10106/ocak-2024). The "Emergency and Disaster Management" course is offered as an elective for all second-year students across the departments of Simav Vocational School of Health Services. The course is taught in two separate sections (Sections A and B) by Lecturer Dr. Nahsan KAYA.
The sample size of the study, based on the power analysis conducted using the G*Power software, will consist of 72 students, with 36 students in each group, assuming 80% power, a 0.05 margin of error, and a 1:1 randomization ratio.
Branch A and Branch B will be randomly assigned as the experimental and control groups via a draw conducted through the randomizer.org website. At the beginning of the study, a pre-test will be administered to both groups. The lessons for the experimental group will be conducted using ChatGPT during the first two weeks, while the control group will receive instruction through the traditional teaching method (presentation-based instruction). At the end of the two weeks, a post-test will be administered to both groups. To ensure that the students receive the same course under the same conditions and opportunities, the teaching methods will be crossed between the groups during the following two weeks, with the experimental group receiving traditional education and the control group being taught with ChatGPT. At the end of the total four-week implementation, a follow-up test will be administered to both groups.
H1. The psychological preparedness levels of university students in the experimental group for natural disasters will be higher in the assessment conducted in the second week compared to the baseline assessment.
H1. The psychological preparedness levels of university students in the experimental group for natural disasters will be higher in the second-week assessment compared to the students in the control group.
H1. The psychological preparedness levels of university students in the control group for natural disasters will be higher in the assessment conducted in the fourth week compared to the baseline and second-week assessments.
H1. The disaster risk perceptions of university students in the experimental group will be higher in the assessment conducted in the second week compared to the baseline assessment.
H1. The disaster risk perceptions of university students in the experimental group will be higher in the second-week assessment compared to the students in the control group.
H1. The disaster risk perceptions of university students in the control group will be higher in the assessment conducted in the fourth week compared to the baseline and second-week assessments.
Data Collection Tools
Socio-demographic Characteristics and Introduction Information Form: It consists of a total of 12 questions prepared by the researchers in line with the purposes of the study. Questions 10, 11 and 12 will be answered by students using ChatCPT under the guidance of an instructor in the "Emergency and Disaster Management" course.
Psychological Preparedness for Disaster Threat Scale: The Turkish validity and reliability study of the scale developed by Zulch (2019) regarding psychological preparedness for disasters in Northern Australian communities was conducted by Türkdoğan-Görgün, Koçak-Şen and McLennan (2023). The scale consists of a total of 21 items under 3 sub-dimensions: "External Situational Environment Knowledge and Management", "Management of the Person's Emotional and Psychological Response" and "Management of the Person's Social Environment". Each item in the scale is evaluated with a 4-point Likert-type rating as 1- Strongly Disagree, 4- Strongly Agree. A minimum of 21 and a maximum of 84 points can be obtained from the scale. The Cronbach Alpha coefficient for the sub-dimensions and the overall scale are 0.91, 0.93, 0.83 and 0.95, respectively (Türkdoğan-Görgün, Koçak-Şen & McLennan, 2023).
University Students Disaster Risk Perception Scale: Developed by Mızrak and Aslan (2020) to assess the disaster risk perception of university students. The scale consists of 19 items in total under 4 sub-dimensions named "Exposure", "Anxiety", "Impact" and "Unmanageability". Each item in the scale is evaluated with a 5-point Likert-type rating as 1- Strongly Disagree and 5- Strongly Agree. A minimum of 19 and a maximum of 95 points can be obtained from the scale. Cronbach Alpha reliability coefficients for the sub-dimensions of the scale are 0.89, 0.89, 0.88 and 0.78, respectively. (Mızrak & Aslan, 2020).
Mızrak, S., & Aslan, R. (2020). Disaster risk perception of university students. Risk, Hazards & Crisis in Public Policy, 11(4), 411-433. https://doi.org/10.1002/rhc3.12202
Türkdoğan-Görgün, C., Koçak-Şen, İ., & McLennan, J. (2023). The validity and reliability of the Turkish version of the Psychological Preparedness for Disaster Threat Scale. Nat Hazards. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11069-023-06006-w
Inclusion Criteria:
Exclusion Criteria: