Status and influencing factors of emergency knowledge and skills among citizens in Beijing and Heilongjiang province

Objective To examine the status and influencing factors of emergency knowledge and skills among citizens in Beijing municipality and Heilongjiang province and to provide references for implementing interventions.Methods We conducted a household questionnaire survey among 1 959 urban and rural residents recruited with random cluster sampling in 5 districts of Beijing city and 5 municipalities of Heilongjiang province between September and October 2016.We adopted chi-square and logistic regression in the study.Results There were differences between the residents of Beijing and Heilongjiang province in the knowledge scores for accident disaster (0.91±0.19 vs.0.84±0.23),public health emergency (0.79±0.26 vs.0.74±0.27),natural disaster (0.76±0.25 vs.0.63±0.30),social security (0.71±0.26 vs.0.64±0.27),and in the score for emergency management skill (0.17±0.30 vs.0.08±0.21).The levels of emergency knowledge and skills were mainly influenced by living region,residential area (urban or rural),education,whether participating in emergency management drills,and the attitude towards emergency education program.Conclusion Government agencies should conduct more emergency management drills and education programs among the public,especially among the residents in rural areas and regions with lower economic development.