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APHA Scientific Session and Event Listing |
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APHA Scientific Session and Event Listing |
Lisa Berry-Bobovski, BA1, Rebecca J. W. Cline, PhD2, Tanis Hernandez, MSW3, Brad Black, MD3, Ann G. Schwartz, PhD, MPH4, and John C. Ruckdeschel, MD5. (1) Communication and Behavioral Oncology, Karmanos Cancer Institute, Hudson Webber Cancer Research Center, Rm. 540, 4100 John R Street, Detroit, MI 48201, 313-576-8289, berryl@karmanos.org, (2) Communication and Behavioral Oncology Program, Karmanos Cancer Institute, Hudson Webber Cancer Research Center, Rm. 540, 4100 John R Street, Detroit, MI 48201, (3) Center for Asbestos Related Disease, 214 East 3rd Street, Libby, MT 59923, (4) Population Sciences, Karmanos Cancer Institute, Prentis Cancer Research Center, 110 East Warren Avenue, Detroit, MI 48201, (5) Karmanos Cancer Institute, Hudson Webber Cancer Research Center, 2nd Floor, 4100 John R Street, Detroit, MI 48201
Background: In 1999, the first news coverage of what EPA has called “the worst environmental disaster” in U.S. history characterized its epicenter, Libby, Montana, as “a town left to die.” Although the disaster's source, the vermiculite mine, closed in 1990, this previously-thriving community faced the awakening of a sleeping dragon represented by amphibole asbestos-contaminated vermiculite. In Libby, occupational and non-occupational exposure has resulted in 265 known deaths; additional hundreds have asbestos-related disease (ARD). Because lag time from exposure to diagnosis of ARD ranges from 10-40 years, the disaster's unfolding continues. Purpose: We analyzed community-level consequences and responses to a “slow-motion technological disaster,” from pre-awareness of the impending disaster to living the disaster while maintaining/building hope for the community's future. Significance: Substantial research addresses individual-level psychosocial consequences of natural disasters (e.g., PTSD). However, little is known about community-level repercussions of slow-motion environmental disasters. A thriving community is more than a collection of surviving individuals; the community-level system itself must cope. Methods: Focus groups, comprised of people with ARD, with mine-related and non-mine related exposures; family members of people with ARD; and healthy people with no ARD in their families, were conducted in Libby. Results: Participants described (1) the disaster's community-level consequences (e.g., stigma, conflict, economics); (2) the evolution of formal/informal community coping efforts and their impact; and (3) their vision (i.e., hopes/dreams) for the community's future. Conclusion: The Libby, MT experience yields guidance for developing effective community-level coping responses and interventions for communities facing the unique challenges of future slow-motion disasters.
Learning Objectives: At the conclusion of this session, the participant will be able to
Keywords: Disasters, Community Response
Presenting author's disclosure statement:
Not Answered
The 134th Annual Meeting & Exposition (November 4-8, 2006) of APHA