Community-Based Disaster Support for Older Residents: Perceptions of Organizational Leaders Belonging to Disaster Coalitions

Background and Purpose: Older adults are more vulnerable than their younger counterparts in disaster situations, partly due to functional limitations, limited social support, difficulty maintaining medical regimen, and limited knowledge about preparedness steps. Rural communities face significant challenges during disasters due to geographic dispersion and disaster response infrastructure characterized by limited capacity and resources. Community-based support is vital to keeping older residents safe and healthy during and after a disaster, however disaster organizations report difficulties in assessing for preparedness of their older residents. Therefore, the purpose of this research was to investigate the perceptions of organizational leaders from two disaster coalitions, regarding preparedness of older residents in their communities.

 

Methods: We conducted a one-time survey of organizational leaders (N=44) involved in two Eastern Iowa disaster coalitions. Both coalitions were formed following a major flood that affected much of Iowa in 2008, and continue to collaborate and share resources to address disaster-related needs of the community. Respondents were asked: “How likely are older adults in this community to experience serious disasters in the next five years?” (perceived susceptibility); “How severe would the consequences of these disasters be for older residents?” (perceived severity); “How confident are you that older residents can prepare for these disasters?” (personal-efficacy); and “How confident are you that older residents being prepared will improve the outcomes of the disasters?” (response efficacy) using a 5-point Likert-type scale.

 

Results: The majority of participating organizations were non-profit (68%) followed by federal/state government (16%), city/township government (7%), and other sectors (10%). On average, these organizations had been in operation for 56 years (Median=43 years). These organizations altogether served 26 surrounding counties, with the majority being rural communities. Most individual respondents (46%) held higher administrative positions (such as director, chief executive officer, or vice president) or program coordination positions (41%). On average, respondents had been in their current positions for about 9 years (SD=6.36; Range=0.3 to 24.6 years) and with the current organization for 16 years (SD=9.87; Range=3.4 to 38 years).

Participants believed older residents were “somewhat or very” likely to encounter a future disaster (M=3.3; Range=1 to 5), and consequences would be “somewhat or very” severe (M=3.4). Respondents felt “somewhat or very” confident that outcomes could improve through better preparedness (M=3.7), but “a little or somewhat” confident about older residents’ ability to prepare (2.8). Twenty-five percent reported training older/fragile individuals to develop contingency plans. Only 23% felt older residents are well-supported in disaster management compared to 55% regarding the general public.

 

Conclusions and Implications: Results show that organizational leaders acknowledge that older residents are vulnerable to disaster situations, and helping them prepare could be beneficial in improving their outcomes. However, participants reported that current supports are not adequately provided to older adults in their community in order to help them prepare. Implications will be discussed by presenting perceived barriers to support and improvements to community-based support mechanisms as qualitatively identified by respondents.