Population-Focused Care to Help Older Adults with Disasters

Findings suggest that disaster events occur currently with greater frequency, older adults are particularly vulnerable to adverse consequences following disasters, and, even though health care professionals are considered key personnel for disaster response and recovery, few are personally prepared for a disaster. The purpose of this presentation is to help provide public health workers with tools to better prepare themselves and their older clients for disasters. A population-focused approach will be used to provide specific examples and resources that can be used to help older adults become better prepared by targeting individual/family, systems, and community levels. Individual/family level strategies will focus on reviewing best practices for helping older adults and their caregivers develop a disaster plan and for preparing and maintaining an emergency kit or disaster bag. Systems level strategies will focus on establishing routine methods in primary care settings to assess client preparedness, and for assuring resources needed to develop or improve agency disaster plans and to better prepare employees. Strategies at the community level will focus on ways to change community attitudes, norms, and practices so that community members, and particularly vulnerable populations, are prepared for disasters. Specific examples will also be given to help public health workers apply this framework in academic and practice settings with the intent of promoting the health of older adults.