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Emergency Preparedness of Persons Over 50 Years Old: Further Results from the Health and Retirement Study
A leading policy concern in the United States is maintaining and enhancing resilience during times of disasters. Therefore, emergency preparedness of older persons is becoming a focal point for families, health care professionals, and policymakers (Killian, T. S., Moon, Z. K., Mcneill, C., Garrison, B., & Moxley, S. 2017). This article described emergency preparedness as a complex, multidimensional construct and empirically examined an array of sociodemographic, motivation, and barrier variables as predictors of levels of emergency preparedness. The researchers used the 2010 Health and Retirement Study wave for the emergency module of preparedness focused on ≥50-year old persons in America reconsidering by use of logistic regression models and reconsidered a previous analysis (Killian et al., 2017). The HRS has been conducted biennially since 1992 with a focus on the health and financial resources of the aging population (Killian et al., 2017). Eligible participants in the study lived in the United States, were aged 50 years and older, and did not live in long-term care. The complete study had a pool of 22,034; from that pool, 1892 participants were randomly selected for the emergency preparedness module. Records with data missing on any of the key variables were excluded, resulting in a final dataset of 1784(Killian et al., 2017).
The findings revealed that generally, the population is not prepared well for emergencies, and it was common across economic, demographic, and social groups in America (Killian et al., 2017). Evidence revealed older adults are vulnerable in particular to negative results in disasters. Immediately following the storm in Hurricane Katrina, about three-quarters of all bodies that were found were individuals aged over 60 years (Killian et al., 2017). The high mortality rates of the older populations were attributed to a variety of factors, including infirmity complications or complicating or preventing effective evacuation plans. In addition, according to a recent publication on post-disaster outcomes among older persons, researchers found higher morbidity varied with the type of disaster as well as with comorbidities, low social support, need for prescription medications, hearing and visual impairments, impaired mobility, and cognitive deficits. Age-related vulnerabilities represent a matrix of challenges for persons negotiating the given disaster, as well as for the agencies bearing legal and moral responsibility for individuals’ well-being (Killian et al.,2017).
Vulnerability of Urban Homebound Older Adults in Disasters: A Survey of Evacuation Preparedness
Recent disasters within the United States, such as Hurricanes Katrina and Sandy, have highlighted the vulnerability of older adults, and recent litigation has upheld the responsibility of government in assisting the public during mandatory evacuations. A study by Dostal, P. J2015), intended to evaluate the ability and willingness of homebound elders to evacuate and as well categorizing their medical needs in the event they are relocated to an emergency shelter. Dostal et al. (2015), evaluated 56 medical decision surrogates and homebound primary care practice in Philadelphia. The report by the respondents showed constrictions both in their willingness and ability to evacuate their regions (Dostal et al., 2015). Several homebound elders are unwilling or unable to leave in an obligatory evacuation situation, stressing on the necessity for public help assistance. Their complex medical needs will require significant preparation by special needs shelters. This study demonstrates that many homebound older adults are unprepared to evacuate their homes and neighborhoods due to their physical disabilities and lack of resources, and they would be in mortal danger in the event of a mandatory evacuation situation.
Trial of a survey instrument to establish the hurricane preparedness of and medical impact on a vulnerable, older population.
