Reconsidering “Special Needs” Populations During a Disaster

Abstract

Meeting the "special needs" of at-risk populations affected by disasters is of the utmost importance. In the United States, there are 54 million people who fit into the special needs category who are defined as handicapped, disabled, vulnerable, challenged, or having special needs. The paramount importance for the special needs population is maintaining human dignity throughout the disaster management cycle. Government agencies, nongovernmental organizations, and advocacy organizations have all worked together to attempt to address and ensure that the needs of all individuals are addressed throughout the disaster cycle. Each provider and emergency responder should be familiar with the Americans with Disabilities Act requirements, but this alone does not begin to address the needs of children, the elderly, or other individuals and their special needs. There are multiple theoretical frameworks that may be useful, but the most human approach may be to consider needs based on Maslow's hierarchy of needs.

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“…On the other hand, following disasters, some pre-existing medical problems may be aggravated (25,31,38,42,48).…”

“…The findings of some studies showed that chronic diseases may interfere with older people's ability to evacuate; for example, somebody with the chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) who is trying to go down the stairs may face difficulty in evacuating (32,33,38,42). Moreover, chronic diseases can interfere with access to services after disasters; for example, a person with arthritis may have problems standing in line for access to services (32).…”

“…This theme also includes the need for assistance in instrumental activities of daily living (IADLs), which are more complex activities requiring a higher level of autonomy and ability to negotiate the environment by shopping, repairing damaged roofs, and managing money after disasters (2,7,32,34,38,51). Various forms of assistance in the activities of daily living have been mentioned in the literature such as the delivery of groceries to older persons who have moved into new areas, sending taxi for helping older adults in shopping or the other outdoor activities, such as help in negotiating for repairing or rebuilding their homes, selling, and buying (34).…”

“…Some common instances of abuse include choking, slapping, pinching, and kicking (2,8,29,31,33,37,38). Some studies mentioned that mistreatment might not be reported in disasters.…”

“…Second, problems related to an interruption in the continuity of medical services are an issue (25,38,42). Third, sometimes although services are available, emergency providers focus more on basic needs and there is ignorance or reluctance to deal with pre-existing medical problems (25,29,31,37,49).…”