Sheltering the Medically Fragile—Lessons Learned in Florida (USA) during the 2004 Hurricane Season

Abstract

s-14th World Congress on Disaster and Emergency Medicine s75 distributed to NGOs to explore the type and availability of current data and information regarding adult malnutrition. The appropriate adult anthropometric and contextual data, which were available, were collated for the relevant NGOs and were entered into a centralized database. A targeted, literature search and a focus group with an N G O were conducted to explore appropriate contextual factors. A data collection tool was developed to standardize and improve the recording of details in the context of a feeding program during a complex emergency. Results Literature search-Limited evidence was identified outside of complex emergencies regarding the usefulness of hair pluckability using a "trichotillometer" to assess nutritional status in adults. A study was carried out in Aberdeen to test the reliability of this method and to investigate whether this method shows ethnic variance. Adult data-Data were collated from feeding programs treating adults from countries in Africa and the Middle East from 1997-2003 included in a centralized database. Data from children's malnutrition programs were found to have been the priority for N G O data collection. Taking into account the lack of individual adult nutritional data and the few variables common across NGOs, a populationbased approach was adopted for data analysis. There were very few context factors from the N G O reports that could be compared across different feeding programs. Therefore, the development of a context data collection tool was advanced. Conclusion: The partnership approach enabled this project to contribute to the recent increasing focus on adult malnutrition during complex emergencies, by advancing the methods for assessing adult malnutrition in complex emergencies. The process of creating a cross-NGO, centralized database for this project can be used to explore other issues in this field. Using this tool to explore different contexts also will enhance the ability to assess nutritional status in relation to contexts of children's food programs.