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Assessing Long-term Impacts of a Natural Disaster: A Focus on the Elderly
Abstract
Pre- and post-event data on the long-term effects of the 1966 Topeka tornado revealed a complex pattern of responses by the elderly. In comparison to younger victims, older victims: regarded the loss of exterior items and house-related damage as being more important; received aid from community resources far less frequently; were less likely to use insurance and other economic sources in recovery; less frequently increased insurance coverage, savings, bank credit, or the use of credit cards; and did not perceive any significant long-term negative consequences regarding their physical or mental health.
... However, empirical studies of this issue have yielded inconsistent results. Whereas some studies of older adult disaster victims have found effects on psychological and physical health (Krause, 1987;Phifer, Kaniasty, & Norris, 1988), others have found no adverse effects (Kilijanek & Drabek, 1979;Melick & Logue, 1985-1986. When compared with younger adults, older adults are found to be equally susceptible (Miller, Turner, & Kimball, 1981;OUendick & Hoffinan, 1982) or less susceptible (Bell, Kara, & Batterson, 1978;Bolin & Klenow, 1982-1983Huerta & Horton, 1978;Price, 1978) to physical and psychological sequelae. ...
... Averaged across the entire sample, psychological symptoms increased modestly, with differentially greater susceptibility among those aged 55-64. This pattern of results corroborates studies that showed an adverse impact on older adults (Krause, 1987;Miller et al, 1981;Ollendick & Hoffman, 1982;Price, 1978) and those that found older adults to be less adversely affected than younger adults (Bell et al, 1978;Bolin & Klenow, 1982-1983Huerta & Horton, 1978) but contradicts those of prior studies that have not found psychological sequelae in older adults (Cohen & Poulshock, 1977;Kilijanek & Drabek, 1979;Melick & Logue, 1985-1986. However, these studies contained methodological weaknesses that may have contributed to the lack of effects, such as the absence of predisaster symptom measures, inadequate psychological measurement (Cohen & Poulshock, 1977;Kilijanek & Drabek, 1979), and an extremely long follow-up interval (Melick & Logue, 1985-1986. ...
... This pattern of results corroborates studies that showed an adverse impact on older adults (Krause, 1987;Miller et al, 1981;Ollendick & Hoffman, 1982;Price, 1978) and those that found older adults to be less adversely affected than younger adults (Bell et al, 1978;Bolin & Klenow, 1982-1983Huerta & Horton, 1978) but contradicts those of prior studies that have not found psychological sequelae in older adults (Cohen & Poulshock, 1977;Kilijanek & Drabek, 1979;Melick & Logue, 1985-1986. However, these studies contained methodological weaknesses that may have contributed to the lack of effects, such as the absence of predisaster symptom measures, inadequate psychological measurement (Cohen & Poulshock, 1977;Kilijanek & Drabek, 1979), and an extremely long follow-up interval (Melick & Logue, 1985-1986. ...
In a panel study, more than 200 older adults were interviewed before and after a severe flood in southeastern Kentucky in 1984. The issue in this study was whether older adult flood victims were differentially vulnerable to increases in psychological and physical symptoms on the basis of their age, sex, marital status, occupational status, education level, and preflood symptom levels. Flood exposure was related to increases in depressive, anxiety, and somatic symptoms at 18 months postflood. Within this older adult sample, men, those with lower occupational status, and persons aged 55–64 were at significantly greater risk for increases in psychological symptoms. Sociodemographic status did not moderate the impact of flood exposure on physical health. Implications for crisis-intervention services to older adult disaster victims are discussed.
... Disasters not only undermine older people's health but also their socioeconomic wellbeing [99]. Compared with younger people, older people are more likely to consider the loss or damage of property and exterior items in disasters significant [105]. Bayraktar and Yilmaz [22] underlined a need to consider the socioeconomic impact of disasters on older people as a major psychological stressor. ...
... Living in unsuitable housing may worsen depression resulting from forced relocation due to disasters [97]. Compared with younger people, older people may be harder hit by the loss of property [105]. Research also shows that older people living in institutionalised group quarters are generally more vulnerable than those residing in private households, thus often requiring additional support for daily activities [67]. ...
... By contrast, it is clear from our reviewed publications that support for older people is far from adequate, systematic and comprehensive, particularly in the disaster response phase. Kilijanek and Drabek [105] referred to such inadequacy as a "pattern of neglect" in which older people receive aids far less than, for example, their younger counterparts; and the "pattern of neglect" remains four decades after the critique advanced by Kilijanek and Drabek. ...
Against the backdrop of rapid population ageing and widespread urbanisation, this review explores older people’s needs in urban disaster response. We conducted a systematic review of 120 publications across several related fields – disaster management, gerontology, and urban governance. We identified five needs of older people in disaster response: health, socioeconomic, evacuation and settlement, information and communication, and cultural needs. We find that older adults’ needs were insufficiently met for four main reasons. First, a lack of understanding of the relationships between different needs poses challenges to coordinating disaster response, particularly when relief aid targets different needs in an uncoordinated fashion. Second, standard disaster response often provides unsuitable aid to older people, leaving them feeling uncomfortable, unequal, and undignified. Third, there is a discrepancy between policy expectations and actual disaster response, resulting in inadequate incorporation of older people’s needs into disaster response at local, national, and international levels. Fourth, there is a relative lack of advocacy that directly gives voice to older people rather than indirectly reflecting their needs through carers and disaster responders. To address research and knowledge gaps, we propose five directions for future research: (1) a need for conceptually informed, contextually salient, and transparent working definitions of older people, (2) a need for nuanced intersectional understandings of older people’s needs, (3) a holistic understanding of the disaster ecology of older people’s different needs, (4) a focus on secondary disasters arising from primary disasters, and (5) a need for more theoretically informed and empirically rigorous research.
... Moreover, age differences in disaster adaptation are among the most controversial topics in research on disasters and aging. Recent studies with a focus on major hazard events such as the 2008 Wenchuan Earthquake in China (for example, Jia et al. 2010) have predominantly endorsed a narrative of older people's vulnerability, despite the fact that earlier research pinpointed a better adaptation in older groups (for example , Bell 1978;Huerta and Horton 1978;Kilijanek and Drabek 1979;Phifer 1990). Given that rural areas are becoming less age-diverse due to rapid population aging and massive out-migration, disaster-related policymakers and practitioners must raise awareness of the changing age structures in building the adaptive capacity of rural communities. ...
... However, other research on older adults' experience of natural hazards has reported a strikingly distinct pattern. Remarkably, gerontological and disaster research a few decades ago documented an exceptional level of resilience that older adults' mental health was less affected by natural hazards than younger groups (for example , Bell 1978;Huerta and Horton 1978;Kilijanek and Drabek 1979;Phifer 1990). Several scholars have also noted that older adults did not develop severe post-disaster depressive symptoms or PTSD (for example, Strough et al. 2024) and even sustained a higher level of positive emotions (Rafiey et al. 2016) than younger groups. ...
Despite the well-documented impacts of single natural hazards like earthquakes, less is known about the psychological adaptation to multiple natural hazards, particularly in rural areas. This study investigated the associations of multiple natural hazards with depression among Chinese adults. Data were retrieved from the China Family Panel Studies conducted during 2010–2018. With a sample of 11,633 Chinese adults, multilevel logistic regression was employed to examine the relationships between natural hazard exposure and depression in the total sample and different age groups. Overall, experiencing four or more natural hazards was associated with a higher risk of being depressed. Regarding hazard type, the number of hydrometeorological and biological hazards was associated with a higher likelihood of depression, whereas the number of geologic and other hazards was related to a lower risk of depression. Middle-aged adults from villages were more likely to be affected by natural hazard exposure than older and younger adults. The findings of this study show that cumulative exposure to natural hazards can generate lasting effects on depressive symptoms, particularly in middle adulthood. The findings also suggest that older adults from rural areas may have accumulated more resilience to mitigate the adverse well-being effects of hazard events. Policies and interventions should enhance disaster awareness and preparation for aging residents from multi-hazard communities.
... In regard to older populations, Thomas Kilijanek and Thomas Drabek (1979) found that the elderly received assistance from community resources far less frequently following the 1966 Topeka Tornado. Ehren Ngo (2001) argues that more research is needed to address the needs and conditions of the elderly. ...
... While applicants in the 35-44 yearsold category are shown to receive about 6% more in FEMA funding than those in the 18-34 years-old group, the results indicate that applicants over 65 years-old receive almost 25% less FEMA funding through the Individual Assistance Housing Program than the reference group made up of applicants who are 18-34 years-old. These findings support prior social disaster research that found inequalities associated with age (Durant 2011;Fernandez et al. 2002;Kilijanek and Drabek 1979;Ngo 2001). They also point to the need for updated FEMA organizational reforms focused specifically to enhance assistance to the elderly, whether or not they have special needs, which is the only time elderly populations are referred to in existing reforms. ...
... Other studies have focused on the identification of risk factors associated with tornado fatalities (Kilijanek and Drabek 1979;Simmons and Sutter 2005, 2009Donner 2007;Ashley et al. 2008;Dixon and Moore 2012;Donner et al. 2012;Ashley et al. 2014;Lim et al. 2017;Fricker et al. 2017a;Elsner et al. 2018;Masoomi and van de Lindt 2018;Fricker and Elsner 2019;Strader et al. 2021). For example, Simmons and Sutter (2005, 2009, Lim et al. (2017), and Masoomi and van de Lindt (2018) use regression models to explain the impact different physical, socioeconomic, and demographic factors have on fatalities. ...
... Fricker et al. (2017a) and Elsner et al. (2018) use similar regression techniques to explain the relative impact wind energy-estimated energy dissipation at the surface-and population density have on casualties-including fatalities-while Fricker and Elsner (2019) evaluate the residuals of a regression model to identify communities that are impacted by unusually devastating tornadoes. Kilijanek and Drabek (1979), Donner (2007), Ashley et al. (2008Ashley et al. ( , 2014, Dixon and Moore (2012), Donner et al. (2012), and Strader et al. (2021) use other qualitative, geographic, and statistical methods to identify patterns between risk factors and tornado fatalities. Results of these works show that the number of tornado fatalities increases with tornado strength, population density, percentage of mobile homes, and the number of older adults (age 651) in an area. ...
Tornadoes account for the third highest average annual weather-related fatality rate in the United States. Here tornado fatalities are examined as rates within the context of multiple physical and social factors using tornado level information including population and housing units within killer tornado damage paths. Fatality rates are further evaluated across annual, monthly, and diurnal categories, as well as between fatality locations and across age and sex categories. The geographic distribution of fatalities are then given by season, time of day, and residential structures. Results can be used by emergency managers, meteorologists, and planners to better prepare for high-impact (i.e. fatality) events and used by researchers as quantitative evidence to further investigate the relationship between tornadoes, climate, and society.
... This finding was determined to be caused by: (1) elders being less likely to evacuate their homes/property after warnings have been posted; (2) elders being more likely to live in homes that are less structurally sound and therefore more prone to damage in disasters; (3) elders experiencing greater psychological trauma as a result of losses associated with the disaster; and (4) elders being less likely to receive post disaster assistance than are younger victims (Sanders et al., 2003). Kilijanek and Drabek (1979) addressed this last factor. They documented the reluctance of some elders to use certain resources even in cases of obvious need and suggested a strong independent orientation in many older persons who may avoid services with a "welfare" image as a reason for such disinclination. ...
... No maps were available to show areas with high concentrations of elders, including in public housing, mobile home communities, naturally-occurring retirement communities, or condos and apartments. Kilijanek and Drabek (1979) were among the first to identify special challenges for communities in meeting the needs of elders following a natural disaster. They found that older disaster victims who incurred extensive damage received aid from community resources far less frequently than did other age groups. ...
... Bu hipotezi destekleyen kimi araştırmalar mevcuttur. Hatta geleneksel mantığın aksine, yaşlıların toplu olarak yer değiştirmesinin uzun vadede psikolojik sağlıklarını etkilemediğini gösteren birden fazla araştırma vardır (Cohen & Poulshock, 1977;Kilijanek & Drabek, 1979). Kaliforniya'daki Northridge depreminin kurbanları üzerinde yaptıkları çalışmada araştırmacılar deprem sonrası depresyon düzeylerinin en çok deprem öncesi depresyon düzeyleriyle ilişkili olduğunu keşfetmişlerdir. ...
ÖZ Depremler, günümüzde dünya çapında en çok ölüme, ciddi yaralanmaya ve uzuv kaybına neden olan doğal afetlerdir. Depremler, etkileri toplumlar için yüksek ekonomik kayıplara ve maliyetlere neden olan, kaçınılmaz, zamansız ama yıkıcı etkileri olan en önemli doğa olaylarından biri olarak insanlığı etkilemeye devam etmektedir. Geçmişte yaşanan depremlerin tarihsel etkilerinin görülebildiği ülkemiz, yakın gelecekte deprem olgusuyla yeniden yüzleşmek zorunda kalmış, toplumumuz bugün depremler nedeniyle travmalar yaşamaya devam etmekte ve gelecekte birlikte yaşamayı öğrenmek zorundadır. Deprem, başta deprem bölgesi olmak üzere toplumun hemen hemen tamamını olumsuz etkilemekle birlikte, yol açtığı sosyoekonomik sorunlar ve ruh sağlığı sorunları ile özellikle savunmasız bireyleri, özellikle engelliler, çocuklar ve yaşlılar gibi toplum gruplarını daha şiddetli ve olumsuz etkilemektedir. Yaşlı nüfusun hızla arttığı ülkemizde yaşlılık nedeni ile kırılgan bu ileri yaştaki toplumsal grubun depreme bağlı ruh sağlığı sorunları ayrıcalıklı bir şekilde ele alınmalıdır. Anahtar Kelimeler: Doğal afet, Yaşlı, Deprem ve Yaşlı, Yaşlılar ve Psikososyal Sorunlar ABTRACT Earthquakes are natural disasters that cause the most deaths, serious injuries and loss of limbs worldwide today. Earthquakes continue to affect humanity as one of the most important natural events with unavoidable, untimely but devastating effects, the effects of which cause high economic losses and costs for societies. Our country, where the historical effects of earthquakes in the past can be seen, had to face the earthquake phenomenon again in the near future, our society continues to experience traumas due to earthquakes today and has to learn to live together in the future. While the earthquake negatively affects almost all of the society, especially in the earthquake zone, it affects especially vulnerable individuals, especially social groups such as the disabled, children and the elderly, with the socioeconomic problems and mental health problems it causes, more severely and negatively. In our country, where the elderly population is rapidly increasing, the mental health problems of this elderly social group, who are fragile due to old age, should be handled in a privileged way. Keywords: Natural disaster, Elderly, Earthquake and Elderly, Elderly and Psychosocial Problems
... The findings were in line with the observations by Ref. [27]; which suggest that in addition to tornado physical characteristics and population exposure, several demographic and socioeconomic conditions of communities also influence the likelihood of sustaining loss. Demographic variables such as higher percentages of disabled, elderly, or child populations, contribute towards vulnerability to natural hazards at a location [26,29,[31][32][33][34][35]. In the context of this study, vulnerability to tornadoes can be described as intrinsic characteristics of the socioeconomic ecosystem that create the potential for harm during a tornado event [36]. ...
... This finding is particularly true for tornado hazards (Ashley, 2007;Eidson, Lybarger, Parsons, Maccormack, & Freeman, 1990). Post disaster, when compared to younger victims, older adults typically underutilize aid from community disaster relief resources (Kilijanek & Drabek, 1979) as well as suffer from more long term psychological distress and somatic symptoms (Phifer, 1990). Potential explanations for this observed pattern of vulnerability vary from social isolation (Klinenberg, 2002) to mobility and sensory impairments resulting in a decreased likelihood of encountering a disaster warning (Eldar, 1992). ...
... Although our findings are consistent, that socially vulnerable populations may be at greater risk of depression challenges from disasters, we did not detect the impact on older populations, which warrants further discussion of possible hypotheses [55]. The exposure hypothesis contends that older individuals suffer psychological challenges due to their limited ability to relocate at short notice, and the interruption of care for their chronic health condition [55][56][57][58]. Systematic review/meta-analyses note that disaster [55,58] did not demonstrate greater likelihood of depression in older adults. ...
Sub-Saharan Africa faces unprecedented disasters, with climate change expected to exacerbate the frequency and severity of unpredictable and stressful catastrophic events. Unlike developed nations, reconstruction in developing nations is hindered by resource constraints, with certain communities potentially experiencing multiple and enduring effects of disasters. Despite the potential danger of such cumulative community disaster exposure on mental health (e.g. depression), large-scale population-level evidence for the region is limited. We investigated the association between exposure to cumulative disaster and the first onset of depression in a nationally representative survey in South Africa. We used panel data from the South African National Income Dynamics Study (SA-NIDS) from 2008-2017, consisting of 17,255 adult study participants who were depression free at baseline. Risk of first depression onset between individuals exposed and unexposed to community disaster was measured, accounting for multiple disaster exposure over time by fitting generalized estimating equation (GEE) regression models. Data on the geographic location of disasters were obtained from the South African government gazette, and mapped with the government delineated SA-NIDS households' locations. Of the sampled individuals, 2,986 were exposed to disaster during the study duration (17.3%). Increased cumulative community disaster was significantly associated with the likelihood of depression onset (adjusted relative risk [aRR] = 1.20, p
... Although the physical health consequences of traumatic events are more problematic for older than younger adults, older adults appear more psychologically resilient (Acierno, Ruggiero, Kilpatrick, Resnick, Galea, 2006;Bell, 1978;Bolin & Klenlow, 1983;Cohen, 2008;Geonjian, Najarian, Pynoos, & Steinberg, 1994;Huerta & Horton, 1978;Kato, Asukai, Miyake, Minakawa, & Nishiyama, 1996;Kilijanek & Drabek, 1979;Ruggiero, Amstadter, Acierno, Kilpatrick, & Resnick, 2009). Indeed, age is negatively correlated with post-traumatic symptoms of anxiety and depression ( Acierno et al., 2006;Cohen, 2008;Fontana & Rosenheck, 1994;Hyer, Summers, Braswell, & Boyd, 1995;Norris, 1992), perhaps because older adults have developed more refined coping mechanisms and techniques than their younger counterparts, or because they are simply less likely to report psychological symptoms. ...
In 2007 the legislature in British Columbia, Canada passed legislation making mediation mandatory in contested guardianship applications in court. Older adults often are the defendants in these matters, and, therefore will be required to participate in mediation under this statute. Some adults required to participate may also be victims of abuse. However, very little research exists on mediation in situations of elder abuse. This article fills that gap. In this article the author examines existing research on elder mediation and abuse, draws parallels to research on mediation in other abuse situations, gives examples from existing programs, and analyzes the impact of the new legislation on older adults. Additionally, the author makes recommendations for further research and next steps.
... When the rule of relative needs ('the extent of disaster exposure and losses') meets with support advantage (or disadvantage) factors, special patterns of support receipt may emerge. Patterns of neglect (such as certain subgroups of survivors receive considerably less support than their equally affected counterparts) and patterns of concern (such as certain subgroups of survivors receive considerably more support than their equally affected counterparts) have been reported in a few studies examining the distribution of informal and formal aid in the aftermath of disasters (see, for example, Kilijanek and Drabek, 1979). These patterns, rules, norms, and prejudices saliently underscore the austere reality that not all survivors are fully included in post-disaster altruistic communities (Kaniasty and Norris, 1995). ...
This scoping review provides a summary of research findings on social support dynamics in the aftermath of disasters that occurred on the continent of Australia and Oceania between 1983 and 2013. Forty‐one studies, both quantitative and qualitative, that investigated different facets of postdisaster supportive interactions were summarized. All investigations examined disasters resulting from natural hazards, with majority of them conducted following events in Australia and New Zealand. The review revealed similar patterns of postdisaster social support dynamics that routinely unfold after disastrous events all over the world. Consistent with disaster mental health literature ‐ social support mobilization and social support deterioration processes were commonly documented. Salutary direct effects of supportive behaviors on postdisaster psychological distress were also highly evident. Most studies, however, posed research questions or hypotheses that lacked theoretical or empirical groundings. In conclusion, the review offers several recommendations on how to advance research examining postdisaster social support. This article is protected by copyright. All rights reserved
... It has been well-established in the disaster literature that while older adults are uniquely vulnerable to disasters and typically experience greater disaster loss, they receive less social and financial support after a disaster relative to other groups. In the social context, they may hesitate to ask for assistance [3] or have fewer family members to help them get assistance [22,23]. Older adults are also less likely to have adequate property insurance coverage and more likely to report problems with using their coverage [6,34]. ...
Background
To estimate changes in the cost and utilization of Medicare among beneficiaries over age 65 who have been impacted by a natural disaster, we merged publically available county-level Medicare claims for the years 2008–2012 with Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) data related to disasters in each U.S. County from 2007 to 2012. Methods
Fixed-effects generalized linear models were used to calculate change in per capita costs standardized by region and utilization per 1000 beneficiaries at the county level. Aggregate county demographic characteristics of Medicare participants were included as predictors of change in county-level utilization and cost. FEMA data was used to determine counties that experienced no, some, high, and extreme hazard exposure. FEMA data was merged with claims data to create a balanced panel dataset from 2008 to 2012. ResultsIn general, both cost and utilization of Medicare services were higher in counties with more hazard exposure. However, utilization of home health services was lower in counties with more hazard exposure. Conclusions
Additional research using individual-level data is needed to address limitations and determine the impacts of the substitution of services (e.g., inpatient rehabilitation for home health) that may be occurring in disaster affected areas during the post-disaster period.
... The one consistent finding between Nakahara and Ichikawa (2013) and Nishikiori et al. (2006), who addressed mortality in Sri Lanka from the great Indonesia earthquake and tsunami of 2004, was higher death rates among the elderly. Studies of other rapid-onset natural disasters including earthquakes (Tanida 1996), tornados (Carter et al. 1989;Bolin and Klenow 1983;Kilijanek and Drabek 1979), hurricanes (Brunkard et al. 2008;Dyer et al. 2008) and cyclones (Chowdhury et al. 1993) consistently demonstrated a pattern of vulnerability for those of advanced age. ...
This paper examines the concept of tsunami tendenko from the disciplinary perspective of sociology. Tendenko as a tsunami evacuation strategy advocates a rapid individual response to an imminent tsunami threat by moving quickly to safety, disregarding others, even one's own family members. The concept developed within a mature disaster subculture along the eastern coast of Japan as a grassroots response to large repeated tsunamigenic earthquakes in which entire families perished. High death tolls in tsunami events were attributed to the desire of families to reunite before evacuating, thus losing precious seconds and minutes during which they could have fled individually, saving their lives. Following the Great East Japan Earthquake of March 11, 2011, tendenko once again became a topic of interest in the news media and among academic researchers and government officials. In this critique of the concept of tendenko, two basic assumptions are examined: that tendenko is facilitated by the human tendency to act individually rather than collectively in a crisis situation, and that practicing tsunami tendenko will save lives. The study draws upon both basic sociological knowledge of human behavior and the extensive disaster research literature to challenge the first assumption and upon demographic research in Japan to question the second assumption.
... Presently, subclinical depression, or minor depression, is common among community-dwelling elderly adults, although there is a wide range of reported prevalence rates depending on sample characteristics and measurement methods used. 6 Daily functioning is related to mental health among elderly adults, 7,8 and in some longitudinal research, depressive status predicts further functional decline among community-dwelling elderly adults. 9,10 Functional assessment, which is now incorporated in the Japanese national elderly care program, 11 could be an avenue for assessing further needs related to psychological health among elderly adults. ...
This study aimed to explore the relationship between psychological distress and degree of functional independence among elderly adults following the Great East Japan Earthquake. Participants were 20 282 adults aged 65 and older who lived in the Great East Japan Earthquake evacuation zone specified by the government on March 31, 2011. This study is a part of a detailed survey on mental health and lifestyle, the Fukushima Health Management Survey, which was conducted in 2012. Psychological distress was assessed using the Kessler 6 scale. Functional independence in different daily activities was assessed by asking participants whether they could independently perform activities: eating, dressing, toileting, and shopping. According to the multiple logistic regression analysis, psychological distress was significantly associated with independence in all models: without adjustment (Model 1), adjusting for demographic characteristics (Model 2), and adjusting for demographic characteristics and disaster-related factors (Model 3), with an adjusted odds ratio of 2.32 (95% confidence interval = 1.97-2.73). High psychological distress was associated with low functional independence, after controlling for demographic characteristics and disaster-related factors. Thus, using psychological distress as the dependent variable, we examined the relationship between low functional independence and psychological distress among elderly adults who were evacuated.
... 25 The term pattern of neglect has been used to describe findings that indicate elderly individuals were less likely to draw upon family, neighbors, or friends for aid during or after a disaster and were less likely to receive formal assistance from government and community organizations whether that assistance be tangible or emotional. 5, 26 Klinenberg identified the importance of social ties to surviving the Chicago heat wave of 1995, wherein deaths in the disaster were concentrated among isolated, elderly populations. 27 ...
Objective:
Elderly individuals are considered at elevated risk of disaster impacts owing to increased health concerns, reduced mobility, and fixed economic resources. Social capital can counteract these vulnerabilities by increasing the likelihood of hearing disaster warnings, providing social ties to assist with preparation and evacuation, and providing access to financial or nonfinancial resources. I aimed to analyze the relationship between age and perceptions of disaster-related social capital.
Methods:
I used mailed surveys and in-person interviews with a sample of residents from 2 Florida counties to study perceptions of social capital available for disaster.
Results:
The results showed that age has a negative effect on perceptions of social capital resources available during a disaster. The elderly reported fewer social ties overall and much fewer social ties that could provide financial assistance, if necessary, during a disaster.
Conclusions:
These results indicate that social capital may not counteract the social vulnerabilities of elderly persons to disaster impacts. (Disaster Med Public Health Preparedness. 2016;page 1 of 8).
... At the same time, academics and practitioners have expanded the range of vulnerabilities beyond exposure to hazards or physical structural weaknesses to include social and economic issues. It has been established that in many disasters, ranging from the Bhopal gas leak in India to Hurricane Katrina in the United States, social inequalities and vulnerabilities played major contributing roles in the overall impact (Elliot & Pais 2006;Hartman & Squires 2006;Henkel et al. 2006; all of the above are often disadvantaged when it comes to receiving aid (Bolin & Stanford 1998;Fothergill 1996;Kaniasty & Norris 1995;Kilijanek & Drabek 1979;van den Eynde & Veno 1999). ...
Providing a detailed and comparative assessment of the humanitarian responses to a series of major disasters in Asia over the past two decades, including massive earthquakes, volcanic eruptions, and tsunamis, this book explores complex and changing understandings and practices of relief, recovery, and reconstruction. These critical investigations raise questions about the position and responsibilities of a growing range of stakeholders, and provide in-depth explorations of the ways in which local communities are transformed on multiple levels - not only by the impact of disaster events, but also by the experiences of rebuilding. This timely volume highlights how the experiences of Asia can contribute towards post-disaster responses globally, to safeguard future communities and reduce vulnerabilities. This is a valuable resource for academic researchers interested in post-disaster transformations and development studies, practitioners in NGOs, and government officials dealing with disaster response and disaster risk reduction.
... This finding is particularly true for tornado hazards (Ashley, 2007;Eidson, Lybarger, Parsons, Maccormack, and Freeman 1990). Post disaster, when compared to younger victims, older adults typically underutilize aid from community disaster relief resources (Kilijanek and Drabek 1979) as well as suffer from more long term psychological distress and somatic symptoms (Phifer 1990). Potential explanations for this observed pattern of vulnerability vary from social isolation (Klinenberg, 2002) to mobility and sensory impairments resulting in a decreased likelihood of encountering a disaster warning (Eldar 1992). ...
... In a fervor of benevolence, frequently accompanied with organizational confusion ("postdisaster culture of chaos," see Norris, this volume), it is easy to leave out some subgroups of victims just because of their historically and culturally sanctioned separation from the mainstream of the society. This might result in a pattern of neglect such that some of the victims could receive less help and support than other people comparably affected (Kilijanek & Drabek, 1979;Kaniasty & Norris, 1995). ...
Close to 100 years ago, after his visit to San Francisco, severely devastated by the 1906 earthquake, William James noted that “In California every one, to some degree, was suffering and one's private miseries were merged in the vast general sum of privation and in the all-absorbing practical problem of general recuperation” (James, 1912, p. 225). These insightful words illuminate two paramount characteristics of community-wide tragedies. Most importantly, whether they are caused by the forces of nature, technological mishaps or errors, or result from premeditated acts of violence and terrorism, they are more than individual-level events. They are “a basic disruption of the social context within which individuals and groups function” (Fritz, 1961, p. 651). Even if they strike geographically bounded environments such as tornados coiling one side of a street, floods submerging a neighborhood along the river banks or explosions shattering the heart of a city, their impact “ripples outward” inflicting harm and damages, and over time creating a greater sense of loss to larger and larger numbers of people. Consequently, the coping efforts aimed at recovery from the oppressive forces of these events become a shared responsibility and collective activity. The chapters presented in this volume all underscored this dynamic interplay of individual and community experiences that emerged in the hours, days, weeks and months in the aftermath of the terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001.
... Cyclones, hurricanes, and floods are usually associated with advance warning in contrast to earthquakes and tsunamis that result in sudden impact. Older adults often form a disproportionately higher percentage of casualties and have less ability to relocate at short notice with potential consequences of psychological morbidity post disaster (Kilijanek and Drabek, 1979). ...
Background: Natural disasters affect the health and well-being of adults throughout the world. There is some debate in the literature as to whether older persons have increased risk of mental health outcomes after exposure to natural disasters when compared with younger adults. To date, no systematic review has evaluated this. We aimed to synthesize the available evidence on the impact of natural disasters on the mental health and psychological distress experienced by older adults.
Design: A meta-analysis was conducted on papers identified through a systematic review. The primary outcomes measured were post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), depression, anxiety disorders, adjustment disorder, and psychological distress.
Results: We identified six papers with sufficient data for a random effects meta-analysis. Older adults were 2.11 times more likely to experience PTSD symptoms and 1.73 more likely to develop adjustment disorder when exposed to natural disasters when compared with younger adults.
Conclusions: Given the global rise in the number of older adults affected by natural disasters, mental health services need to be prepared to meet their needs following natural disasters, particularly around the early detection and management of PTSD.
... Cyclones, hurricanes, and floods are usually associated with advance warning in contrast to earthquakes and tsunamis that result in sudden impact. Older adults often form a disproportionately higher percentage of casualties and have less ability to relocate at short notice with potential consequences of psychological morbidity post disaster (Kilijanek and Drabek, 1979). ...
In the above mentioned article by Parker
et al
., on the seventh page, in the final paragraph of column two, the following three sentences should have been removed:
“DSM-IV criteria specify a minimum six-month delay between the traumatic event and a diagnosis of PTSD (APA, 2000). Any diagnosis prior to this time would be an acute stress reaction. Based on these diagnostic criteria, it is possible that at least two studies were reporting acute stress reaction rather than PTSD.”
This error does not change the results or conclusions of the study.
... This finding is particularly true for tornado hazards (Ashley, 2007;Eidson, Lybarger, Parsons, Maccormack, and Freeman 1990). Post disaster, when compared to younger victims, older adults typically underutilize aid from community disaster relief resources (Kilijanek and Drabek 1979) as well as suffer from more long term psychological distress and somatic symptoms (Phifer 1990). Potential explanations for this observed pattern of vulnerability vary from social isolation (Klinenberg, 2002) to mobility and sensory impairments resulting in a decreased likelihood of encountering a disaster warning (Eldar 1992). ...
As a whole, scholars suggest that individuals with disabilities are disproportionately affected by disaster. However, few empirical studies have been conducted on the effects of disasters on individuals with disabilities, and to our knowledge, no published data is available on the effects of tornadoes on this population. However, we believe findings from research conducted on the elderly can be reasonably extrapolated for two reasons. First, the two groups share commonalities in how they are vulnerable to disasters. For example, both individuals with disabilities and elderly adults often evidence similar specific physical disabilities, such as mobility disabilities or sensory impairments. Both also experience socio-economic vulnerabilities, such as poverty, unemployment, or living in housing prone to disaster hazards at disproportionately higher rates. In addition, these types of vulnerabilities are often "layered" in these two groups leading to cases in which individuals are exposed to multiple risk factors. Second, individuals with disabilities and elderly adults do not represent two distinct groups. In fact, most adults will acquire a disability, if only temporarily, at some time during their lifetime. In addition, as adults age, they tend to acquire disabilities, such as hearing losses, visual impairments, and cognitive disabilities, and the severity and number of these disabilities tend to increase with an individual's longevity. Finally, given recent advances in medical science, individuals with disabilities are living longer and increasingly joining the elderly adult demographic. As a result, the two groups overlap substantially, while sharing similar vulnerabilities. We argue here that research is particularly warranted on the effects of tornadoes on individuals with disabilities given the large prevalence of this population throughout the world, the intensity of their social vulnerabilities in disaster, and recent federal mandates that specify equal access for individuals with disabilities to emergency preparedness and response services.
... This finding is particularly true for tornado hazards (Ashley, 2007;Eidson, Lybarger, Parsons, Maccormack, and Freeman 1990). Post disaster, when compared to younger victims, older adults typically underutilize aid from community disaster relief resources (Kilijanek and Drabek 1979) as well as suffer from more long term psychological distress and somatic symptoms (Phifer 1990). Potential explanations for this observed pattern of vulnerability vary from social isolation (Klinenberg, 2002) to mobility and sensory impairments resulting in a decreased likelihood of encountering a disaster warning (Eldar 1992). ...
... It is important to remember that post-crisis exchanges of support take place in a context of pre-existing socio-political and cultural structures, and thus they are reflections of complex transactions among characteristics of the individuals, the community, and the stressor. Patterns of neglect and concern have been reported in a number of studies examining the distribution of aid following natural disasters (e.g., Kilijanek and Drabek, 1979;Bolin and Bolton, Table 12.3. Coping with natural disasters: selected aspects associated with social support deterioration Disruption of social networks through death, injury, relocation Need for actual support surpasses the availability Downward adjustment of social support expectations Decline in the level of routine daily activities Decreased social participation -putting "social life on hold" Interpersonal weariness -"pressure cooker effect" Potential for interpersonal conflicts Challenges to societal and political status quo 1986; Kaniasty and Norris, 1995;Beggs and Haines, 1996;Oliver-Smith, 1996;Kaniasty and Norris, 2000). ...
A disaster is defined as a basic disruption of the social context within which indi-viduals and groups function" (Fritz, 1961, p. 651). In other words, natural disasters, technological catastrophes, and acts of mass terrorism are more than individual-level events; they are community-level events that bring harm, pain, and loss to large numbers of people simultaneously. They are often brutal in their severity and broad in their scope. Many of them involve immediate trauma arising from exposure to death and injury (horror), extreme physical force (terror), and life-threatening situations. They destroy and disturb. Natural disasters, technological catastrophes, and acts of terrorism result in sim-ilar psychological consequences, such as symptoms of post-traumatic stress disor-der, depression, anxiety, and physical ailments (Rubonis and Bickman, 1991; Green and Solomon, 1995; Salzer and Bickman, 1999; Norris et al., 2002). Yet there are potentially important differences among these events in their effects on social and community life. The purpose of this chapter is to review the empirical literature on social reactions to natural and technological disasters in an attempt to identify the points of convergence that could prove useful in predicting how communities might react when faced with threats and dangers of biological terrorism. Social support in the context of natural disasters Natural disasters are generally straightforward in that they are easy to define and easy to observe. Through direct or vicarious exposure, many people have seen most forms of them: floods, earthquakes, tornadoes, hurricanes, volcanic eruptions, forest fires, blizzards, droughts, and many more.
... In a fervor of benevolence, frequently accompanied with organizational confusion ("post-disaster culture of chaos," see Norris, this volume), it is easy to leave out some subgroups of victims just because of their historically and culturally sanctioned separation from the mainstream of the society. This might result in a pattern of neglect such that some of the victims could receive less help and support than other people comparably affected (Kilijanek & Drabek, 1979;Kaniasty & Norris, 1995). ...
Krys Kaniasty 30 Close to 100 years ago, after his visit to San Francisco, severely devastated by the 1906 earthquake, William James noted that "In California every one, to some degree, was suffering and one's private miseries were merged in the vast general sum of privation and in the all-absorbing practical problem of general recuperation" (James, 1912, p. 225). These insightful words illuminate two paramount characteristics of community-wide tragedies. Most importantly, whether they are caused by the forces of nature, technological mishaps or errors, or result from premeditated acts of violence and terrorism, they are more than individual-level events. They are "a basic disrup-tion of the social context within which individuals and groups function" (Fritz, 1961, p. 651). Even if they strike geographically bounded environments such as tornados coiling one side of a street, floods submerging a neighborhood along the river banks or explosions shattering the heart of a city, their impact "ripples outward" inflicting harm and damages, and over time creating a greater sense of loss to larger and larger numbers of people. Consequently, the coping efforts aimed at recovery from the oppressive forces of these events become a shared responsibility and collective activ-ity. The chapters presented in this volume all underscored this dynamic interplay of individual and community experiences that emerged in the hours, days, weeks and months in the aftermath of the terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001. What were the recurring themes in this diverse set of reports describing a variety of outreach efforts to hundreds of thousands of Americans brutally awakened to the unprecedented levels of terror and grief? Undoubtedly the scope of these acts of ter-ror and the devastation they brought about have no match in the history of the USA, if not in the history of the modern world. Of course, the world has experienced a plethora of tragedies and many of them were extensively studied by scientists in the past few decades. Hence it might prove useful to explore the extent to which the dif-ficulties and complexities observed and experienced by the authors of this section Neria-30.qxd 22/2/06 8:34 PM Page 529 Book title: Mental Health in the Wake of Terrorist Attacks --Cambridge University Press.
... Other reported factors that increase a location's susceptibility to tornadoes include a large elderly population (Carter et al. 1989;Eidson et al. 1990;Schmidlin and King 1995;Cutter et al. 2003;Simmons and Sutter 2011), a large percentage of citizens with a disability (Cutter et al. 2003), and a large percentage of non-English speaking citizens (CDC 1988). Elderly citizens are generally less mobile and often have pre-existing health issues (Cutter et al. 2000;Kilijanek and Drabek 1979) and have also been reported to be less likely to seek shelter during tornado events (CDC 1992). Citizens that are unable to speak English may not comprehend warnings or understand how to react to them (CDC 1988). ...
Tornado vulnerability depends on the incidence of and societal exposure to tornadoes for a particular location. This study assesses the vulnerability of Texas counties to tornadoes using tornado incidence and societal exposure composite scores. Three different assessment methods are used to quantify tornado vul-nerability and a geographical information system is used for visualization. Using multiple assessment methods facilitates different ways of viewing tornado vulnerability. Even though the three tornado vulnerability maps produced in this study are spatially diverse, some counties were repeatedly identified as highly vulnerable. The most highly vulnerable counties were located within the northern and northeastern portions of the state, specifically in the northeastern corner within the Shreveport, Louisiana, county warning area.
This handbook is the first to comprehensively study the interdependent fields of environmental and conservation psychology. In doing so, it seeks to map the rapidly growing field of conservation psychology and its relationship to environmental psychology. The Oxford Handbook of Environmental and Conservation Psychology includes basic research on environmental perceptions, attitudes, and values; research on specific environments, such as therapeutic settings, schools, and prisons; environmental impacts on human well-being; and ways to promote a more sustainable relationship between people and the natural environment. This handbook presents an extensive review of current research and is a thorough guide to the state of knowledge about a wide range of topics at the intersection of psychology and the physical environment. Beyond this, it provides a better understanding of the relationship between environmental and conservation psychology, and some sense of the directions in which these interdependent areas of study are heading.
At 12, 18, and 24 months after Hurricane Hugo, 831 adults were interviewed regarding their disaster-related stressors and present psychological state. The study’s purposes were to assess whether age influenced one’s vulnerability to postdisaster stress and to evaluate four different perspectives on disaster recovery that have been previously used to explain age differences. Regression analyses demonstrated that disaster exposure had substantial and pervasive psychological effects. The analyses also revealed a curvilinear interaction between disaster exposure and age. Younger people exhibited the most distress in the absence of disaster, but middle-aged people did so in its presence. Differential exposure, resources, and inoculation all failed to explain these differences; however, the burden perspective had considerable explanatory power.
For a community dangers caused by natural disasters (floods, whirlwinds, gales) or resulting from humans activities (gas output, war) mean the time of social mobilization related to protection of both social and institutional resources. This is a situation when in local communities forces present in informal relations (volunteers, self-helpgroup) as well as institutionalized structures (non-governmental organisations, social welfare centre) are mobilised. In this article, actions carried in case of a flood in Poland and the help provided for Ukraininan refugees are compared. Empirical data from three studies has been used two with flood victims and the social workers and one with social workers and volunteers helping the refugees from Ukraine. Some aspects related to giving support for victims of a crisis situation should be indicated. Firstly, both flood victims and refugees are not unitary collectivities and differ in terms of future plans, social and financial capital, situation in the household or trust given to helping institutions. Secondly, social mobilization is carried out by both state institutions (e.g. social welfare centre) as well as non-governmental sector and volunteers. Thirdly, the suport is provided in three speheres: informative connected with how to conduct some tasks or how to exist after a flood or leaving Ukraine, material (financial) and emotional. Fourthly, well-prepared and competent representatives of governmental and non-governmental sector are important and a clear division of tasks between particular people or entities giving suport for those in need coordination of activities.In case of Ukrainian refugees in walfare social centres complex social work should be implemented from welcoming to becoming independent. Social work should be focused on familarizing with an offer of public and non-governmental institutions supporting refugees in the proces of integration but also on enhancing successful communication and orientation in the place of living.
Original data collected in the AARP-Andrus study were used as basis for comparative study of delayed recovery by disaster type, proximity, and relocation. Disaster samples included 109 flooded, 100 dioxin-contaminated, and 145 affected by both disasters at Times Beach or a total of 354 S's. Proximity (had or still resided on confirmed dioxin sites), and disaster type were significantly associated with delayed recovery. Relocation was not associated with recovery; however, lack of permanent relocation and attitudes toward relocation were found to affect recovery among the dioxin sample; with younger persons reporting greater effects than elders. Data support other studies on chemical disasters; and add the components of examining effects of relocation and proximity, and the prolonged effects of man-made disasters vs. natural disasters.
Rapid epidemiological assessment (REA) has evolved over the past 30 years into an essential tool of disaster management. Small area survey and sampling methods are the major application. While REA is protocol driven, needs assessment of displaced populations remains highly non-standardized. The United Nations and other international organizations continue to call for the development of standardized instruments for post-disaster needs assessment. This study examines REA protocols from leading agencies in humanitarian health assistance across an evaluation criteria of best-practice attributes. Analysis of inconsistencies and deficits leads to the derivation of a Minimum Essential Data Set (MEDS) proposed for use by relief agencies in post-disaster REA of health status in displaced populations. This data set lends itself to initial assessment, ongoing monitoring, and evaluation of relief efforts. It is expected that the task of rapid epidemiological assessment, and more generally, the professional practice of post-disaster health coordination, will be enhanced by development, acceptance, and use of standardized Minimum Essential Data Sets (MEDS).
Tornadoes account for nearly one fifth of all natural hazard fatalities in the United States, yet there exist no general estimates of casualty rates across the country. Here tornado casualty rates are estimated for all casualty-producing tornadoes over the period 1995–2016 using tornado level information related to the population and total housing units within each damage path. The 22-year United States per-capita casualty rate is 2.3%, while the 22-year United States per-housing unit casualty rate is 5.4%. Injury and fatality rates are also estimated over the same period. The 22-year United States per-capita fatality rate is 0.15% and the per-capita injury rate is 2.1%. The per-housing unit fatality rate is 0.36% and the per-housing unit injury rate is 5.1%. Casualty rates are further examined through subsets of Enhanced Fujita rating, state boundaries, and county boundaries. When used in conjunction with estimates of future changes in tornado behavior and population growth, these casualty rates can help predict tornado casualty events in communities throughout the United States.
Previous research has identified a number of physical, socioeconomic, and demographic factors related to tornado casualty rates. There remain gaps in our understanding of community-level vulnerabilities to tornadoes. Here a framework is provided for systematically identifying the most unusually devastating tornadoes, defined as those where the observed number of casualties far exceeds the predicted number. Results show that unusually devastating tornadoes occur anywhere tornadoes occur in the United States, but rural areas across the Southeast appear to be most frequented. Seven examples of unusually devastating tornadoes affecting six communities are examined in more detail. In addition, results highlight that cities and towns affected by unusually devastating tornadoes have their own socioeconomic and demographic profiles. Identifying geographic clusters of unusually devastating tornadoes builds a foundation to address community-level causes of destruction that supports ethnographic and qualitative—in addition to quantitative—studies of place-based vulnerability. Key Words: statistics, tornado, vulnerability.
Providing a detailed and comparative assessment of the humanitarian responses to a series of major disasters in Asia over the past two decades, including massive earthquakes, volcanic eruptions, and tsunamis, this book explores complex and changing understandings and practices of relief, recovery, and reconstruction. These critical investigations raise questions about the position and responsibilities of a growing range of stakeholders, and provide in-depth explorations of the ways in which local communities are transformed on multiple levels - not only by the impact of disaster events, but also by the experiences of rebuilding. This timely volume highlights how the experiences of Asia can contribute towards post-disaster responses globally, to safeguard future communities and reduce vulnerabilities. This is a valuable resource for academic researchers interested in post-disaster transformations and development studies, practitioners in NGOs, and government officials dealing with disaster response and disaster risk reduction.
Individuals with special healthcare needs have some of the highest morbidity and mortality rates during disasters. Efforts to triage, transport, shelter, or treat vulnerable populations often fail to take into consideration disabilities and social situations, including caregiver availability. Communication, medical care, independence, supervision, and transportation needs should be considered in emergency preparedness planning. Inconsistencies with the definitions and scope of individuals with special healthcare needs exist. The problems and complexity of vulnerable populations, as well as potential solutions are considered to assist planners and disaster responders in the preplanning, mitigation, treatment, and recovery of these individuals.
On May 22, 2011, a devastating tornado hit Joplin, Missouri, virtually destroying one of the two hospitals subsequently causing the medical system to be overwhelmed. This chapter presents first-hand accounts and summarizes lessons learned from six providers who were involved in tornado recovery efforts from this natural disaster. In addition, we discuss the unique implications of tornados for the elderly.
The inclusion of a chapter on psychosocial response to environment change among the elderly in this volume is a tribute to three decades of theoretical and applied research contributions in the areas of environmental psychology and social gerontology. Although initially challenged to provide explanations for eye opening, but somewhat misleading, early findings such as those suggesting that placement of elderly in institutions could dramatically shorten their lifespan (Carmargo & Preston, 1945; Josephy, 1949; Lieberman, 1961), the field has subsequently been marked by the development of theoretical models and methodological strategies to account for the impact of a variety of environmental changes on the physical and emotional well-being of the elderly.
The pathogenic effects of traumatic events have been consistently documented over a large range of populations and occurrences (Wilson & Raphael, 1993). At the same time, considerable variability in human response to trauma has been documented (e.g., Solomon, Mikulincer, & Waysman, 1991). Although many survivors are able to put the trauma behind them and resume their lives, others are detrimentally affected. They may suffer a deterioration of health and social functioning, along with a large variety of psychological disturbances, including anxiety, depression, somatization (Solomon, 1993), and posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD), which is the most common and conspicuous psychological sequela of trauma (American Psychiatric Association, 1994).
The last two decades have witnessed a dramatic increase of theoretical and empirical efforts aimed at understanding the nature of the human stress process. The contemporary literature includes many theoretical propositions, integrative models, and research findings that have advanced our ability to predict and explain people’s responses to stressful life circumstances (e.g., Ensel & Lin, 1991; Goldberger & Breznitz, 1993; Hobfoll, 1988; Jerusalem, 1993; Jerusalem & Schwarzer, 1989; Lazarus, 1991; Lazarus & Folkman, 1984; Moos, 1986; Pearlin, 1989). However, the vast majority of this literature has focused on the analysis of the stress process at the level of the individual. We know a great deal about how a single person in the context of his or her own personal resources, stress appraisals, coping efforts and environmental constraints confronts a variety of stressful circumstances. In contrast, community stress processes, that pertain to the issue of what happens when an entire community is affected by a common stressor, have been examined less frequently. Are there parallels between the essentials of individual stress processes and the dynamics of stress at the community level? Is it possible to conceptually differentiate between both stress processes and to integrate them into a common theoretical framework? Certainly, there are no readily available answers to these challenging questions.
Many things influence human decision-making in disasters. This work considers the information management needs and collaborative work of those focused on animal care and evacuation in disasters. Empirical ethnographic work on-site at two animal evacuation locations, as well as fieldwork responding to large animal needs, and ongoing participant observer fieldwork between events has led to both academic and practical contributions aimed at improving the ways animal advocates, animal owners and emergency responders are able to communicate and attend to the needs of animals and their owners in a disaster.
INTRODUCTION There is a large body of empirical evidence illustrating that disasters can have considerable mental health effects for a significant proportion of survivors, ranging from temporary stress reactions to more persistent and severe psychopathology (Norris, Friedman, & Watson, 2002). Although there is still some ongoing debate regarding risk and protective factors for mental health vulnerability in the face of disasters, some evidence suggests that those at greater risk are children, women, people of low socioeconomic status, individuals with physical and mental disabilities, ethnic minorities, first responders, the uninsured, residents of rural areas, and subgroups of older adults (Johnson et al., 2006; Johnson & Langlieb, 2005; Mokdad et al., 2005; Norris et al., 2002). Advances in public health, biomedicine, and socioeconomic and living conditions have all contributed to making older adults one of the fastest growing segments of the population in the United States and other industrialized countries (He, Sengupta, Velkoff, & DeBarros, 2005). Among those 65 years of age and older, women far outnumber men, and there is increasing heterogeneity in race and ethnicity (He et al., 2005). Since female gender and ethnic minority status are two potential risk factors for vulnerability in the event of a disaster, this may compound concern for those among the older adult population. There are numerous views regarding why older adults are or are not expected to be differentially vulnerable to the effects of disasters.
INTRODUCTION Disasters elicit strong and quick physiological, emotional, and social reactions. Even in the most dramatic circumstances, survivors seldom become psychologically paralyzed. Instead, they burst into action, doing what they can to rescue and help others. A century ago, after his stay at Leland (Stanford) University during the 1906 San Francisco earthquake, William James (1912) coined the term “universal equanimity” to describe how “the steadfastness of tone was universal” among survivors in the midst of their suffering (p. 225). He concluded his essay, “On some mental effects of the earthquake,” with these words: At San Francisco the need will continue to be awful, and there will doubtless be a crop of nervous wrecks before the weeks and months are over, but meanwhile the commonest men, simply because they are men, will go on, singly and collectively, showing this admirable fortitude of temper. (p. 226) These insightful words serve to remind us that individual and community resilience to disasters rests on ongoing cooperative action. Other writers have since echoed James' observations in describing high levels of mutual helping engrossing whole communities in the aftermath of disaster. This phenomenon has been referred to in the disaster literature with a variety of terms: “democracy of distress” (Kutak, 1938), “post-disaster utopia” (Wolfenstein, 1957), “stage of euphoria” (Wallace, 1957), “altruistic community” (Barton, 1969), and “heroic and honeymoon phases” (Frederick, 1980).
The issue of planning for evacuations of nursing homes and related health care facilities concerns both emergency planners and disaster researchers who cite the lack of empirical data on the problems of special populations during emergency evacuations. Although most evacuations of such facilities are carried out successfully, the effectiveness of an evacuation (as measured by time to evacuate) is limited by certain constraints. This study examines selected organizational characteristics of nursing homes and related health care facilities which experienced either a partial or complete evacuation of their facilities. Among the factors affecting facility evacuations are resources, the type and number of clientele, and community characteristics such as population density. Although the issues are related to general evacuation concerns, the findings suggest that individuals within specialized populations are unlike other victims of disaster with particular needs that require different management strategies to expedite an evacuation efficiently.
This chapter reviews the prevalence and risk factors associated with violence during the life course of the elderly, including its short and long-term consequences. As violence is highly prevalent in many societies individuals who have been exposed to violence have also grown old. There is limited knowledge about the long-term implications of early exposure into late life. Elder abuse has become a major issue in public health; however, the elderly are also victims to crime, war, atrocities in society, and trauma from disasters. The mental health implications of exposure to violence are reviewed, in particular post-traumatic stress disorder. Controlled studies on treatment of older individuals exposed to violence are rare. The findings suggest that exposure to violence in childhood, as a young adult or as an elder all have adverse effects on mental health in old age. The trajectory of these mental health outcomes suggests that the elderly may have a path of resilience.
This paper analyses the role of local social, cultural, and political institutions in post-disaster reconstruction projects. It contends that such institutions are important considerations within community-driven reconstruction initiatives, but are often viewed with ambivalence by external aid organisations. This paper draws upon in-depth qualitative interviews with aid workers involved in the post-tsunami reconstruction in Aceh, Indonesia, to establish: (i) what roles community institutions were suited to play in the reconstruction; (ii) what were the limitations of community institutions when engaging with external aid agencies; (iii) how did external aid agencies engage with local community institutions; and (iv) how did external aid agencies perceive community institutions.
We studied barriers to services and supports faced by disabled or diabetic Katrina survivors before and after the storm. Access to health and other services continued as a major source of stress, but most difficult was the disconnection from family, previous neighborhood social network, and friends. Service and support needs overall seem to be similar following catastrophic disasters, but people with disabilities and diabetes encountered unique challenges in social support and medical services.
Frail elderly people are particularly vulnerable during hurricanes. Of the 1,330 people known to have perished along the Gulf Coast as a result of Hurricane Katrina, 71% of those in Louisiana were older than 60 years, 47% were older than 75 years, and at least 68 died in nursing homes. Unfortunately, community disaster planning frequently fails to allow for the needs of the frail elderly before, during, and after hurricanes. This paper discusses the particular vulnerabilities of the frail elderly, especially those with chronic diseases, those in residential care facilities, and those who are dialysis-dependent. The importance of the Incident Management System (IMS) is discussed, and those who care for the frail elderly in long-term care facilities must understand and use IMS in dealing with hurricane-related disasters. Recommendations are made that will improve hurricane disaster planning for the frail elderly. From a policy viewpoint, it is critical that the elderly, especially those with chronic diseases, be included in disaster planning at the federal, state, and local levels to ensure that a repeat of the Hurricane Katrina debacle does not occur.
A systematic review of literature and of information from key organizations was conducted to provide an overview of what is known about elder mistreatment in disaster situations, identify research gaps and to discuss possible policy interventions. While there has been growth in recent years in research on prevalence, incidence and risk factors for morbidity and mortality of seniors in disasters and on elder abuse, research specifically on elder abuse and neglect in disaster situations was limited and only 19 articles were found. The types of abuse most commonly addressed in these articles were financial (theft in shelters and contractor fraud), neglect (primarily abandonment), and physical abuse (domestic violence). Evidence was mainly anecdotal except for contractor fraud, where some prevalence data were available. Research is needed to fill the substantial information gaps. Increase in use of services has been employed to document increases in child abuse and domestic violence during and after disasters. The same methodology could be employed for elder abuse and neglect. Research on best practices (shelter-in-place vs. evacuation) is needed for end-of-life care patients and frail elders in institutional settings. Training and awareness programs for first responders are also needed so that they can better recognize seniors who may have come from abusive environments and to prevent abuse from occurring in emergency housing to which seniors are relocated.
This ethnographic study of a Facebook Page founded on 28 October 2012 in anticipation of Hurricane Sandy's US landfall reveals how on-line pet advocates--a large but loosely organized social movement--mobilized their ad hoc discretionary activities to more cooperative, organized work to assist numerous displaced pets. The investigation shows how innovations around 'crossposting' to create a more persistent form of visual data management were important. It describes how these innovations produced an improvised case management system around which members of the pet-advocacy crowd could collectively work to help displaced pets. The paper connects to the CSCW and organizational science literature to consider how this emergent community articulated work and structured the mission of the Page.
The mail survey used to locate persons 55 and older and to determine their various needs when displaced by disastrous floods
of Hurricane Agnes is described. Responses from 30,000 persons indicate feasibility of use in similar disasters due to low
cost, speed, and manageability with volunteer staff.