Vulnerability of Urban Homebound Older Adults in Disasters: A Survey of Evacuation Preparedness
Vulnerability of Urban Homebound Older Adults in Disasters: A Survey of Evacuation Preparedness
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DOI：
10.1017/dmp.2015.50
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发表时间：
2015-06-01
影响因子：
2.7
通讯作者：
Dostal, Patrick J.
中科院分区：
文献类型：
--
作者：
Dostal, Patrick J.
目的：美国最近发生的灾难，如卡特里娜飓风和桑迪飓风，突出了老年人的脆弱性，最近的诉讼维护了政府在强制疏散期间协助公众的责任。由于残疾而被指定居家的老年人在灾害中面临的不良后果风险最大。这项研究旨在评估居家老年人撤离的意愿和能力，并在他们被重新安置到紧急避难所时对他们的医疗需求进行分类。方法：采用一种新颖的结构化访谈方法对56名来自费城一家居家初级保健诊所的居家老年人和医疗决策代理人进行评估。结果：受访者报告了他们撤离社区的能力和意愿的局限性。居家老年人的医疗需求与养老院居民的医疗需求相当。结论：在强制疏散的情况下，许多居家的老年人不能或不愿意撤离，这突出了对公共援助的需求。他们复杂的医疗需求将需要特殊需要庇护所进行大量准备。
Objective: Recent disasters within the United States, such as Hurricanes Katrina and Sandy, have highlighted the vulnerability of older adults, and recent litigation has upheld the responsibility of government in assisting the public during mandatory evacuations. Older adults designated as homebound due to their disabilities are at greatest risk of poor outcomes in disasters. This study aimed at assessing the willingness and ability of homebound older adults to evacuate, as well as categorizing their medical needs in the event they are relocated to an emergency shelter.Methods: Fifty-six homebound older adults and medical decision surrogates from 1 homebound primary care practice in Philadelphia were assessed with a novel structured interview.Results: Respondents reported limitations in both their ability and their willingness to evacuate their neighborhoods. Medical needs of homebound older adults were on par with those of nursing home residents.Conclusions: Many homebound older adults are unable or unwilling to evacuate in a mandatory evacuation situation, highlighting a need for public assistance. Their complex medical needs will require significant preparation by special needs shelters.