Caring for Elderly Adults During Disasters

Banks, Laura

doi:10.1097/smj.0b013e31827c5157

Cited by 25 publications

(15 citation statements)

References 9 publications

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“…medical facilities, pharmacies, and roads leading to them; Qureshi et al, 2005) can increase the risk of secondary morbidity and mortality among MVPs and exacerbate existing health conditions. This phenomenon has been observed in various emergency scenarios and across different geographical regions (Aldrich & Benson, 2008;Banks, 2013;Bar-Dayan et al, 2000;Bloem & Miller, 2013;Miller & Arquilla, 2008;Yamanda et al, 2013).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 82%

Giving a voice to medically vulnerable populations: A mixed‐methods investigation of their unique perceptions and needs in emergency situations

Shapira

Aharonson‐Daniel

Clarfield

et al. 2020

Health Soc Care Community

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Older adults in poor health represent a growing sector of the population worldwide. These medically vulnerable individuals often tend to be ill‐prepared for emergencies. In times of crisis they are at higher risk of experiencing adverse health outcomes and are liable to place an additional burden on health and social care services. The aim of this study was to explore the unique perceptions and diverse needs of community‐dwelling medically vulnerable individuals in Israel in order to gain insights that could be used to promote future preparedness. A mixed methods design was employed that included 16 in‐depth interviews, followed by a quantitative survey of 179 participants. Data were collected between 2016 and 2017. The analysis process included thematic analysis for qualitative data. Quantitative data analysis focused on estimating associations between preparedness levels and participants’ characteristics and perceptions. The results indicated low levels of preparedness—only 13.5% of participants reported having prepared a full emergency kit with supplies. Family members played a key role in almost every dimension related to emergency preparedness; alongside certain authorities perceived by the participants as responsible for initiating the preparedness process. Additional issues that emerged were related to information and communication and to the logistics of medication handling and special nutrition. The findings suggest that it is vital to adopt a proactive approach to the problem of preparedness in this population. This conclusion should be of value to health and social care practitioners in the community as well as to family members and caregivers. Practical and simple recommendations for enhancing preparedness based on these findings are provided. Viewing preparedness as a process that is the joint responsibility of the individual, the family, caregivers, and community health and social welfare services could contribute to maintaining continuity of care among vulnerable populations and mitigate adverse health outcomes in future events.

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Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 82%

Giving a voice to medically vulnerable populations: A mixed‐methods investigation of their unique perceptions and needs in emergency situations

Shapira

Aharonson‐Daniel

Clarfield

et al. 2020

Health Soc Care Community

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“…The patient characteristics mentioned by the respondents in this study echo the biological, psychological, and social needs of vulnerable populations in a disaster identified by others [9,15,16,17,18,19,20,21,22,23,24,25]. …”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

The Role of the Home-Based Provider in Disaster Preparedness of a Vulnerable Population

Wyte-Lake¹,

Claver²,

Griffin³

et al. 2014

Gerontology

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Background: Veterans receiving home-based primary care (HBPC) are an especially vulnerable population served by the Veterans Health Administration (VHA) due to high rates of physical, functional, and psychological limitations. These vulnerabilities may prevent these persons from being adequately prepared for disasters. HBPC providers connect the community-dwelling population with their regional health care system and thus are appropriate partners for assessing preparedness. The limited literature on this topic suggests that there are issues with the development and implementation of emergency management plans, dissemination to staff, and inconsistencies with preparedness strategies across agencies. Objective: To further explore identified issues regarding emergency management planning for patients receiving medical care in their home, including ways in which policy and procedures support the routine assessment of disaster preparedness for patients. Methods: This exploratory pilot project, carried out in a single VHA HBPC program located in an urban area, involved seven 15- to 25-min semistructured interviews with practitioners and leadership. Transcripts of the interviews were analyzed using content analysis techniques to develop themes to describe information obtained through the interviews. Results: Six themes emerged from the data: (1) a national policy regarding the inclusion of disaster preparedness assessment in routine HBPC assessment exists in only a skeletal manner and individual HBPC programs are tasked with developing their own policies; (2) the tools used at the initial assessment were rudimentary and, in some cases, individually developed by providers; (3) the comprehension of criteria for assigning risk categories (i.e. acuity levels) varied among providers; (4) the primary challenges identified by respondents to patient engagement in emergency preparedness activities included cognitive impairments, patients' willingness to invest in preparedness activities, and limited resources; (5) providers received limited formal training on how to prepare their patients for a disaster, and (6) provider recommendations included training to focus on better strategies to get patients to participate, more consistent time spent on patient education, formalization of the initial assessment, and having emergency preparedness be formally addressed on a more consistent basis. Conclusion: Formal standardized strategies regarding disaster preparedness assessment for HBPC patients, which leave room for flexibility in consideration of local factors, could assist in creating more comprehensive emergency management planning agendas and community collaboration.

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“…Some previous studies reported that the elderly are more likely vulnerable to psychological problems 4,8,9. However, other studies found that the elderly are less vulnerable to psychological impacts of disasters compared to younger survivors 10–12…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Are older people more vulnerable to long-term impacts of disasters?

Rafiey¹,

Momtaz²,

Alipour³

et al. 2016

CIA

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BackgroundDespite the growing interest in the study of disasters, there is limited research addressing the elderly population that lead to prejudiced beliefs that older adults are more vulnerable to disasters than younger adults. This study aimed to compare positive mental health between elderly and young earthquake survivors.MethodData for this study, consisting of 324 earthquake survivors, were obtained from a population-based cross-sectional survey conducted in Iran, 2015. The long-term effect of earthquake was assessed using the Mental Health Continuum-Short Form questionnaire. A one-way multivariate analysis of covariance (MANCOVA) using SPSS (version 22) was used in data analysis.ResultsOlder adults scored significantly a higher level of overall positive mental health (mean [M]=34.31, standard deviation [SD]=10.52) than younger age group (M=27.48, SD=10.56, t=−4.41; P<0.001). Results of MANCOVA revealed a statistically significant difference between older and young adults on the combined positive mental health subscales (F(3,317)=6.95; P<0.001), after controlling for marital status, sex, and employment status.ConclusionThe present findings showing a higher level of positive mental health among elderly earthquake survivors compared with their younger counterparts in the wake of natural disasters suggest that advancing age per se does not contribute to increasing vulnerability.

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Caring for Elderly Adults During Disasters

Cited by 25 publications

References 9 publications

Giving a voice to medically vulnerable populations: A mixed‐methods investigation of their unique perceptions and needs in emergency situations

Giving a voice to medically vulnerable populations: A mixed‐methods investigation of their unique perceptions and needs in emergency situations

The Role of the Home-Based Provider in Disaster Preparedness of a Vulnerable Population

Are older people more vulnerable to long-term impacts of disasters?

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