Journal article
Preparedness for natural disasters among older US adults: a nationwide survey
American journal of public health (1971), Vol.105 Suppl 4(Suppl 4), pp.S621-S626
10/2015
DOI: 10.2105/AJPH.2013.301559r
PMCID: PMC4561612
PMID: 26313052
Abstract
We sought to determine natural disaster preparedness levels among older US adults and assess factors that may adversely affect health and safety during such incidents.
We sampled adults aged 50 years or older (n = 1304) from the 2010 interview survey of the Health and Retirement Study. The survey gathered data on general demographic characteristics, disability status or functional limitations, and preparedness-related factors and behaviors. We calculated a general disaster preparedness score by using individual indicators to assess overall preparedness.
Participant (n = 1304) mean age was 70 years (SD = 9.3). Only 34.3% reported participating in an educational program or reading materials about disaster preparation. Nearly 15% reported using electrically powered medical devices that might be at risk in a power outage. The preparedness score indicated that increasing age, physical disability, and lower educational attainment and income were independently and significantly associated with worse overall preparedness.
Despite both greater vulnerability to disasters and continuous growth in the number of older US adults, many of the substantial problems discovered are remediable and require attention in the clinical, public health, and emergency management sectors of society.
Details
- Title: Subtitle
- Preparedness for natural disasters among older US adults: a nationwide survey
- Creators
- Tala M Al-Rousan - University of IowaLinda M Rubenstein - University of IowaRobert B Wallace - University of Iowa
- Resource Type
- Journal article
- Publication Details
- American journal of public health (1971), Vol.105 Suppl 4(Suppl 4), pp.S621-S626
- DOI
- 10.2105/AJPH.2013.301559r
- PMID
- 26313052
- PMCID
- PMC4561612
- NLM abbreviation
- Am J Public Health
- ISSN
- 0090-0036
- eISSN
- 1541-0048
- Grant note
- P30 ES005605 / NIEHS NIH HHS U01AG009740 / NIA NIH HHS U01 AG009740 / NIA NIH HHS
- Language
- English
- Date published
- 10/2015
- Academic Unit
- Epidemiology; Injury Prevention Research Center; Internal Medicine
- Record Identifier
- 9984364420602771
Metrics
26 Record Views