Samira Sadat Pourhosseini, Nozar Nakhaee, Vahid Yazdi-Feyzabadi, Reyhane Saljooghinejad,
Volume 18, Issue 6 (2-2025)
Background and Aim: Social emergency is intervention programs aimed at preventing social problems by managing social crises. Public awareness of this program plays a crucial role in mitigating such problems. This study aimed to assess the level of public awareness and practice regarding social emergency services.
Materials and Methods: This cross-sectional survey was conducted in 2023 using an online questionnaire and convenience sampling. A total of 706 urban residents of Kerman participated. The data collection tool comprised four sections: demographic information, awareness of social emergency services, awareness of examples of social problems, and practice when encountering social problems.
Results: The mean age of respondents was 36 years, and the majority (70.3%) were women. Regarding awareness, 71% of participants had poor knowledge of social emergency, and 86.7% demonstrated poor awareness of examples of social problems. Additionally, 44.2% exhibited inadequate practice when encountering social problems. The logistic regression analysis revealed a significant association between awareness of social emergency services and both performance and higher education. Individuals with adequate awareness exhibited, on average, 2.28 times better performance than those with inadequate awareness. Similarly, individuals with higher education had, on average, 3.68 times better awareness as compared to those with less than a high school diploma. A significant relationship was also found between awareness of social problems indicators and marital status. Married individuals demonstrated, on average, 0.56 times lower awareness as compared to single individuals. Furthermore, gender and education level were significantly associated with performance. Men’s performance levels were, on average, 1.42 times better than women’s. Additionally, individuals with university and high school education exhibited, on average, 4.22 and 3.47 times better performance, respectively, than those with less than a high school diploma.
Conclusion: Given the poor public awareness of social emergency, there is an urgent need for programs aimed at raising awareness about social problems and the role of social emergency in supporting victims.
