Oral

The adverse physical and mental health conditions that emerge post-disaster are issues that have become of increased interest to the research community given the number of disasters recently experienced in this country. The Greater New Orleans area has seen a plethora of research and community action programs and projects addressing post-Katrina community health needs. One of the greatest challenges in working in this community is addressing health needs that were pre-existing and have since been exacerbated by the community devastation. Tulane Xavier Center of Excellence in Women’s Health has been committed to addressing these emerging needs of our community through our research and many programs focusing on the physical and mental health conditions occurring in our communities still far from recovered. This session will cover some of the findings of our post-Katrina research and a description or update on the programs that have been or are now being implemented. During this session, the presenters will discuss some of the research the Center had been pursuing before the storm hit; subsequently how the Center reinitiated collaboration with a disrupted and broken community; and how the needs assessments in the post-disaster environment altered program focus in the community. This change included the altering of the Center’s research, individual projects and priorities for community work and involvement.

Session Objectives: At the end of this session, participants will be able to: • Identify stressors specific to living in a post disaster environment • Recognize the physical and emotional symptoms of post disaster stress • Discuss the components of a support program for community women based on the data from this needs assessment • Describe how Louisiana’s women perception has changed post Katrina • Describe non-traditional approaches to mental health service delivery and to qualitative data collection

CE Credits: CME, Health Education (CHES), Nursing