Emergency preparedness at the individual level: characterizing the prepared in 3 U.S. states
Elizabeth Land
Advisor: Elizabeth Eustis Turf, PhD
Background: Emergency preparedness, for both man made and natural disasters, has become an increasingly important concept in today’s world. In the United States, the events of September 11, 2001, and Hurricane Katrina highlighted the importance of emergency preparedness at all levels, including at-home, individual preparedness. By preparing themselves and their families, individuals can help to decrease the chance and/or impact of negative health outcomes that can be associated with experiencing a major disaster, especially in the days immediately following a major emergency when assistance from government agencies may not be immediately available. Despite the importance of individual emergency preparedness, only about 31% of the American public is prepared with a basic emergency plan and supplies.
Objectives: The objectives of this study included assessing general preparedness among a population-based sample of U.S. adults across three U.S. states and characterizing who in the sample population was prepared in terms of key demographic characteristics. Preparedness was assessed in three different ways: 1) prepared with basic emergency supplies 2) prepared with an evacuation plan and 3) prepared with emergency supplies and an evacuation plan. Other objectives of the study included assessing associations between general preparedness and other key independent variables, namely health status, veteran status, and having a disability.
Methods: Cross-sectional data from the 2006 Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System (BRFSS) survey were analyzed. Respondents from Montana, Nevada, and Tennessee (N=14,066) were included in the analyses. Univariate and multivariate logistic regression were conducted to examine predictors of general preparedness.
Results: Overall, 34.3% of respondents had emergency supplies, 29.5% had an evacuation plan, while only 13.4% had both, emergency supplies and an evacuation plan. After adjustment, respondents who perceived their health status as excellent/very good, had a disability that required special equipment, were 55-64 years of age, were never married or were retired were more likely to be prepared for all three preparedness outcomes analyzed. Veterans were more likely to report having emergency supplies.
Conclusions: Younger people, Hispanics, and people whose activity was limited by a disability were less likely to be prepared and should be targeted in efforts to increase individual general preparedness. Perceived risk and/or previous disaster exposure should be looked at in future studies as an independent variable and predictor of preparedness.
