School of Mathematical and Statistical Sciences Faculty Publications and Presentations
Document Type
Article
Publication Date
9-2015
Abstract
A medical special needs (MSN) assessment was conducted among 3088 respondents in a hurricane prone area. The sample was female (51.7%), Hispanic (92.9%), aged >45 years (51%), not insured for health (59.2%), and with an MSN (33.2%). Barriers to preparedness were characterized for all households, including those with inhabitants reporting MSN ranging from level 0 (mild) to level 4 (most severe). Multivariable logistic regression tested associations between hurricane preparedness and barriers to evacuation by level of MSN. A significant interaction effect between number of evacuation barriers and MSN was found. Among households that reported individuals with level 0 MSN, the odds of being unprepared increased 18% for each additional evacuation barrier [OR = 1.18, 95% CI (1.08, 1.30)]. Among households that reported individuals with level 1 MSN, the odds of being unprepared increased 29% for each additional evacuation barrier [OR = 1.29, 95% CI (1.11, 1.51)]. Among households that reported individuals with level 3 MSN, the odds of being unprepared increased 68% for each additional evacuation barrier [OR = 1.68, 95% CI (1.21, 1.32)]. MSN alone did not explain the probability of unpreparedness, but rather MSN in the presence of barriers helped explain unpreparedness.
Recommended Citation
Meyer L, Vatcheva K, Castellanos S and Reininger B (2015) Barriers to disaster preparedness among medical special needs populations. Front. Public Health 3:205. doi: 10.3389/fpubh.2015.00205
Creative Commons License
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.
Publication Title
Frontiers in Public Health
DOI
10.3389/fpubh.2015.00205
Comments
©2015Meyer,Vatcheva,CastellanosandReininger.