(A133) Emergency Response and Vulnerable Older People: Some Keys for Better Practices

Abstract

Emergency response and vulnerable older people: some keys for better practices Danielle Maltais, Ph.D. professor and Taha-Abderrafie Maala, M.Sc student, Social Work Teaching Unit, Department of Human Sciences, University of Quebec in Chicoutimi (UQAC). In the event of a natural or technological disaster, certain groups of people, some of elderly, are more vulnerable than others because they do not have easy access to the community resources. For example, several older people, especially those with a physical or cognitive incapacity and those with a low income, do not generally have a car available which can hinder their evacuation during a flood, an earthquake or a hurricane. Moreover, several elders live in older buildings not built to resist to shocks of all kinds. Older people, particularly those with a physical or cognitive incapacity, those with a low income or those without a social network belong to groups at risk to undergo wounds, to die or develop post-disaster health problems. Considering this, several researchers and national or international government and private as well as non-profit organizations such as World Health Organization, the International Red Cross or HelpAge International produced several guides on intervention aiming to support workers caring for the elderly during a disaster. The purpose of this communication is to present the main outstanding facts and recommendations of these various documents in order to heighten the participants' awareness of the importance to take into account the specificities of older people during the application of emergency measures and the recovery period of a community.