TY - JOUR
T1 - Rural Older Adults in Disasters
T2 - A Study of Recovery from Hurricane Michael
AU - Fletcher, Patricia A.
AU - Worthen, Dreamal L.
AU - Mcsweeney-Feld, Mary Helen
AU - Gibson, Allison
AU - Seblova, Dominika
AU - Pagán, Lisandra
AU - Troya, M. Isabela
AU - Fang, Mei Lan
AU - Owusu, Brenda
AU - Lane, Charlene
AU - Wada, Mineko
AU - Harrell, Erin R.
AU - Viana, Aline
N1 - Publisher Copyright:
© The Author(s), 2021. Published by Cambridge University Press on behalf of Society for Disaster Medicine and Public Health, Inc.
PY - 2021/10/21
Y1 - 2021/10/21
N2 - Objective: This study aims for a greater understanding of how older adults (age 65 and older) in Jackson County, Florida, are prepared for and cope with the effects of a natural disaster.Methods: A multidisciplinary, international research team developed a survey examining: (1) resources available to individuals aged 65+ in rural communities for preparing for a disaster; (2) challenges they face when experiencing a disaster; and (3) their physical, social, emotional, and financial needs when it strikes. The survey was administered with older adults (65+) in Jackson County, Florida, following Hurricane Michael in 2018. The descriptive, multivariate logistic, and linear regression analyses were performed to examine the relationship between respondents demographic information and needs, concerns, and consequences of disaster.Results: Results indicated (n = 139) rural community-dwelling older adults rely on social support, community organizations, and trusted disaster relief agencies to prepare for and recover from disaster-related events.Conclusions: Such findings can be used to inform the development of new interventions, programs, policies, practices, and tools for emergency management and social service agencies to improve disaster preparedness and resiliency among older populations in rural communities.
AB - Objective: This study aims for a greater understanding of how older adults (age 65 and older) in Jackson County, Florida, are prepared for and cope with the effects of a natural disaster.Methods: A multidisciplinary, international research team developed a survey examining: (1) resources available to individuals aged 65+ in rural communities for preparing for a disaster; (2) challenges they face when experiencing a disaster; and (3) their physical, social, emotional, and financial needs when it strikes. The survey was administered with older adults (65+) in Jackson County, Florida, following Hurricane Michael in 2018. The descriptive, multivariate logistic, and linear regression analyses were performed to examine the relationship between respondents demographic information and needs, concerns, and consequences of disaster.Results: Results indicated (n = 139) rural community-dwelling older adults rely on social support, community organizations, and trusted disaster relief agencies to prepare for and recover from disaster-related events.Conclusions: Such findings can be used to inform the development of new interventions, programs, policies, practices, and tools for emergency management and social service agencies to improve disaster preparedness and resiliency among older populations in rural communities.
KW - aging in place
KW - disaster preparedness
KW - emergency preparedness
KW - Keywords:
KW - older adults
KW - public health
KW - rural population
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=85118294132&partnerID=8YFLogxK
U2 - 10.1017/dmp.2021.276
DO - 10.1017/dmp.2021.276
M3 - Article
C2 - 34672250
AN - SCOPUS:85118294132
SN - 1935-7893
SP - 1
EP - 5
JO - Disaster Medicine and Public Health Preparedness
JF - Disaster Medicine and Public Health Preparedness
ER -