Table 1.

Characteristics and disaster preparedness profiles of the study subjects (n = 553)

Variable	n (%)	Medical preparedness (%)			General preparedness (%)
		Medication stockpile	Carrying medication	Carrying medical records	Emergency pack	Emergency communication plan	Emergency evacuation plan
Overall		46	50	47	25	22	26
Socio-demographic factors
Gender
Female	514 (93)	47	51	48	26	22	26
Male	39 (7)	33	31*	41	15	26	23
Age (years)
<65	300 (54)	46	47	41	23	21	22
65–74	184 (33)	49	54	54**	29	24	34**
≥75	69 (12)	43	49	55*	26	22	20
Household statusa
Baseline	381 (69)	45	48	45	25	23	25
Frail	106 (19)	47	57	55	25	26	28
Younger-single	28 (5)	68*	46	29	21	7	14
Older-single	38 (7)	47	50	63*	34	16	34
Annual household incomeb (Japanese Yen)
<3 million	186 (37)	49	51	53	29	22	29
≥3 million	320 (63)	44	49	43*	23	23	23
Occupational statusb
Unemployed/retired	445 (82)	46	52	49	26	23	26
Employed/self-employed	99 (18)	48	39*	35*	24	19	21
Highest educational levelb
≤high school	378 (71)	43	53	53	26	24	28
≥some college education	155 (29)	55*	42*	35***	25	17	22
Disaster-related factors
Affected by the DRA-applied event (2004–2006)
Yes	285 (52)	47	53	48	28	23	28
No	268 (48)	46	46	47	23	21	23
Other disaster experience
Yes	76 (14)	58	63	53	28	18	24
No	477 (86)	45*	48*	46	25	23	26
Past participation in disaster drill
Yes	126 (23)	47	53	46	34	30	41
No	427 (77)	46	49	48	23**	20*	21***
Health-related factors
Perceived general health status
Good–excellent	235 (43)	44	52	47	28	24	27
Fair-poor	318 (57)	48	48	47	23	21	25
Comorbid chronic conditions
0 (none)	308 (56)	43	44	38	27	19	23
≥1	245 (44)	49	55***	54***	23	25	27
MHAQ score (0: intact, 3: severely impaired)
0–0.375	193 (35)	42	44	38	25	18	24
0.5–1.25	196 (35)	46	49	47	29	24	24
1.375–3	164 (30)	51	58*	59***	21	25	28
Physical disability
Not disabled	175 (32)	34	40	39	24	19	22
Class 3–6	110 (20)	55***	53*	45	29	28	29
Class 1–2	268 (48)	51***	55***	54**	25	22	26
Long-term care level
Not received	382 (69)	43	49	42	25	23	24
Support-level 1–2	145 (26)	57*	55	64***	28	21	30
Level 3–5	26 (5)	38	35	35	19	23	19

* P < 0.05, ** P < 0.01, *** P < 0.001, with the Chi-square test, in comparison to the value at the top of each variable

DRA Disaster Relief Act, MHAQ modified Health Assessment Questionnaire

^aHousehold status: baseline, the number of household members (NHM) ≥3 or NHM = 2 and the partner does not need any aid; frail, NHM = 2, and either both are ≥65 years or the partner needs aid; younger-single, NHM = 1, and the person is <65 years; older-single, NHM = 1, and the person is ≥65 years

^bIncluding missing values