Disaster-Related Needs Reported at 6 Months and 2.5 Years after the 2011 Joplin, Missouri Tornado

Background: On the afternoon of May 22, 2011, an EF-5 tornado struck the city of Joplin, Missouri, killing 158 people, injuring approximately 1,150 individuals, and causing approximately $2.8 billion in economic losses. Disasters such as severe tornados, typically occur with little warning and cause extensive damage and harm. Survivors often experience a considerable amount of disaster-related needs, and the range and types of needs may differ over the short-term and long-term recovery phases. Specifying unmet needs across disaster recovery phases and by survivor characteristics may lead to better long-term outcomes. Using mixed methods, this study examined current unmet needs assessed by two cross-sectional surveys of Joplin residents, 6 months and 2.5 years after the 2011 tornado in Joplin, Missouri.

Methods: Survey 1 was conducted at 6 months and included 380 responses and survey 2 was conducted at 2.5 years post-disaster and included 379 responses, resulting in a total of 759 responses of unmet needs following the Joplin tornado. Qualitative strategies of content analysis were first conducted to produce taxonomies of coded themes from the responses. After main themes were identified, quantitative techniques were used to describe the frequency and associations of unmet needs across respondent characteristics (survey cohort, sex, age, education).

Results: Respondents proportionately included more women (66% in survey 1, 73% in survey 2) and Caucasians (94% in both surveys). Four main themes of unmet needs were identified from their qualitative responses: 1) housing and shelter, 2) rebuilding, 3) financial, and 4) mental health. The most frequent reported unmet need at 6 months was housing and shelter (42.1%) whereas the most frequent unmet need at 2.5 years was mental health (34%). Compared with male residents, female residents were significantly more likely to report an unmet need related to housing and shelter (X²= 7.30, p < .01), rebuilding (X²= 4.99, p < .05), and mental health (X² = 3.88, p < .05). Likewise, older residents (45 years and older) were significantly more likely to report an unmet need related to finances (X² = 8.64, p < .01) and mental health (X² =5.91, p <.05) than younger residents (18-45 years old). However, education level was not found significantly associated with the unmet needs reported.

Implications and Conclusion: When a major disaster occurs, social work professionals (e.g., community organizers, case managers, mental health counselors) often work in partnership with local, state, and federal organizations to implement recovery plans and services. The current study extends our understanding of survivors’ perceptions of unmet needs in the short-term (6 months) and long-term (2.5 years) recovery phases, and the frequency and associations of needs across respondent characteristics. These findings are important for the design of short-and long-term services focused on addressing needs in the aftermath of disaster.