Factors associated with the intention to participate in activities during a nuclear disaster situation among firefighters

Willingness to participate in activities during a nuclear disaster situation among firefighters is low. Thus, we aimed to identify the factors affecting the intention to participate in nuclear disaster activities. A questionnaire survey was conducted among firefighter training students (n = 186) and firefighters (n = 410), and a multivariate logistic regression analysis was performed to identify factors affecting the intention to participate in nuclear disaster activities. The percentage of students and firefighters who were willing to participate in nuclear disaster activities was 70.4% (n = 131) and 56.3% (n = 231) (P < 0.01), respectively. The factors affecting the students’ intention to participant were “wish to learn more information about radiation” and “firefighters should actively work in a nuclear disaster.” Meanwhile, the factors affecting the firefighters’ intention to work were “have self-confidence during nuclear disaster activities,” “participate if there is an incentive,” “unable to get a family member to understand the need to participate in a nuclear disaster activity,” and marital status. A student’s decision might be strongly connected to social norms about participating in nuclear disaster activities. The willingness to participate in nuclear disaster activities among firefighters might be improved by facilitating activities that can build their self-confidence, providing sufficient incentives, and helping their families understand their work. Therefore, not only direct education for responders but also educational activities for the general public and their families are essential.