Hostname: page-component-cd9895bd7-dk4vv Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2024-12-19T01:52:14.677Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false
  • English
  • Français

Disaster Preparedness: A Comparative Study of North Carolina and Montana

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  20 May 2014

Tatjana Gazibara ,
Haomiao Jia  and
Erica I. Lubetkin
Tatjana Gazibara*
Affiliation:
Department of Community Health and Social Medicine, Sophie Davis School of Biomedical Education, The City College of New York, New York Institute of Epidemiology, Faculty of Medicine, University of Belgrade, Belgrade, Serbia
Haomiao Jia
Affiliation:
Department of Biostatistics, Mailman School of Public Health and School of Nursing, Columbia University, New York, New York
Erica I. Lubetkin
Affiliation:
Department of Community Health and Social Medicine, Sophie Davis School of Biomedical Education, The City College of New York, New York
*
Address correspondence and reprint requests to Tatjana Gazibara, MD, PhD, Institute of Epidemiology, Faculty of Medicine, University of Belgrade, Visegradska 26A, Belgrade 11000, Serbia (e-mail [email protected]).
Get access Rights & Permissions [Opens in a new window]

Abstract

Objective

The emergency preparedness of residents of North Carolina and Montana were compared.

Methods

General preparedness was evaluated using responses to 4 questions related to a household's 3-day supply of water, 3-day supply of nonperishable food, a working battery-operated radio, and a working battery-operated flashlight. Each positive answer was awarded 1 point to create an emergency preparedness score that ranged from 0 (minimum) to 4 (maximum). Results were assessed statistically.

Results

The average emergency preparedness score did not differ between the 2 states (P = .513). One factor influencing higher preparedness in both states was being male. Other influencing factors in North Carolina were older age, being a race/ethnicity other than white, having an annual income of $35 000 or more, having children in the household, better (excellent/very good/good) self-reported health, and not being disabled. In contrast, other factors influencing higher emergency preparedness in Montana were having a college degree and being married or partnered.

Conclusions

A divergence was found in factors influencing the likelihood of being prepared. These factors were likely a result of different sociodemographic and geographic characteristics between the 2 states. (Disaster Med Public Health Preparedness. 2014;0:1-4)

Keywords

disaster preparednessBRFSSMontanaNorth Carolina
Type
Brief Report
Information
Disaster Medicine and Public Health Preparedness , Volume 8 , Issue 3 , June 2014 , pp. 239 - 242
Copyright
Copyright © Society for Disaster Medicine and Public Health, Inc. 2014 

Access options

Get access to the full version of this content by using one of the access options below. (Log in options will check for institutional or personal access. Content may require purchase if you do not have access.)

References

1. Disaster prep by region. The Hartford Catastrophe Information Center website. http://www.thehartford.com/service/catastrophe-claims-operation. Accessed July 22, 2013.Google Scholar
2. Behavioral Risk Factors Surveillance System. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention website. http://www.cdc.gov/brfss. Accessed July 14, 2013.Google Scholar
3.Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). Household preparedness for public health emergencies—14 states, 2006-2010. MMWR Morb Mortal Wkly Rep. 2012;61(36):713-719.Google Scholar
4.Behavioral Risk Factors Surveillance System (BRFSS) questionnaires: modules by state (2010). Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) website. http://apps.nccd.cdc.gov/BRFSSModules/ModByState.asp?Yr=2010. Accessed July 14, 2013.Google Scholar
5. United States Geological Survey. North Carolina state facts. http://www.usgs.gov/state/state.asp?State=NC. Accessed March 6, 2014.Google Scholar
6. North Carolina natural disasters and weather extremes. USA.com website. http://www.usa.com/north-carolina-state-natural-disasters-extremes.htm. Accessed July 22, 2013.Google Scholar
7. United States Geological Survey. Montana state facts. http://www.usgs.gov/state/state.asp?State=MT. Accessed March 6, 2014.Google Scholar
8. Montana natural disasters and weather extremes. USA.com website. http://www.usa.com/montana-state-natural-disasters-extremes.htm. Accessed on July 22, 2013.Google Scholar
9.Castleden, M, McKee, M, Murray, V, Leonardi, G. Resilience thinking in health protection. J Public Health (Oxf). 2011;33(3):369-377.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
10.Amlôt, R, Carter, H. What can emergency planners learn from research on human resilience? Afr Health Sci. 2008;8(suppl 1):S36.Google Scholar
11.Plough, A, Fielding, JE, Chandra, A, etal. Building community disaster resilience: perspectives from a large urban county department of public health. Am J Public Health. 2013;103(7):1190-1197.Google Scholar
12. Annual Estimates of the Resident Population for the United States, Regions, States, and Puerto Rico: April 1, 2010 to July 1, 2011. United States Census Bureau website. http://www.census.gov/popest/data/state/totals/2011/. Accessed July 22, 2013.Google Scholar
13. America's under-served communities: a group discussion on the challenges of rural emergency management. Warrensburg, Missouri: University of Central Missouri, Emergency Management Forum website. http://www.emforum.org/vforum/lc090211.htm. Accessed July 22, 2013.Google Scholar
14.Murphy, ST, Cody, M, Frank, LB, Glik, D, Ang, A. Predictors of emergency preparedness and compliance. Disaster Med Public Health Prep. 2009;7:S1-S8.Google Scholar
15.Ablah, E, Konda, K, Kelley, CL. Factors predicting individual emergency preparedness: a multi-state analysis of 2006 BRFSS data. Biosecur Bioterror. 2009;7(3):317-330.Google Scholar
16.Eisenman, DP, Wold, C, Fielding, J, etal. Differences in individual-level terrorism preparedness in Los Angeles County. Am J Prev Med. 2006;30(1):1-6.Google Scholar
17.Hites, LS, Granillo, BS, Garrison, ER, etal. Emergency preparedness training of tribal community health representatives. J Immigr Minor Health. 2012;14(2):323-329.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed