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Understanding Community-Level Disaster and Emergency Response Preparedness

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  31 March 2015

Crystal Shannon
Crystal Shannon*
Affiliation:
Indiana University Northwest, College of Health and Human Services, School of Nursing, Gary, Indiana.
*
Correspondence and reprint requests to Crystal Shannon PhD, MBA, RN, Indiana University Northwest, College of Health and Human Services, School of Nursing, 3400 Broadway, Dunes Medical Professional Building, Ofc. 3112, Gary, IN 46408 (e-mail: [email protected]).
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Abstract

Objective

Community-level disaster readiness is a major component of community health promotion. However, many readiness programs are focused on the response of emergency and health care personnel and not on the preparedness levels of local citizens. This potentially leaves the public unready and unprepared for emergency event response.

Methods

A 20-item survey on general states of disaster preparedness was delivered to the residents of a midsized midwestern county. The residents were asked to share their knowledge of local hazards, emergency systems, and personal preparedness.

Results

A convenience sample of 423 residents responded to the survey. Fifty-seven percent (n=241) reported limited personal preparedness. Seventy-six percent (n=321) acknowledged little to no familiarity with residential emergency systems, and 52% (n=220) reported that they did not know how to gain information on public health emergencies, such as pandemic flu and evacuation response.

Conclusions

Local citizens should become educated on the methods to support personal disaster and emergency readiness. Health care and emergency management organizations are encouraged to include these concepts in routine community health promotion activities and to pay special attention to known areas of community vulnerability. Failure to do so creates a population unable to support themselves in the provision of basic health and safety measures. (Disaster Med Public Health Preparedness. 2015;9:239-244)

Keywords

emergency preparednessdisaster planninghealth promotiondisaster education
Type
Brief Report
Information
Disaster Medicine and Public Health Preparedness , Volume 9 , Issue 3 , June 2015 , pp. 239 - 244
Copyright
Copyright © Society for Disaster Medicine and Public Health, Inc. 2015 

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