Title: Experiences of public health workers in responding to Hurricane Katrina: Voices from the storm

In the summer of 2006 we conducted an oral history of the public health response to Hurricane Katrina with over 50 public health providers identified at the Louisiana Department of Health and Hospitals, the New Orleans Public Health Department, and the Mississippi Department of Health. Most informants were executive or high-level administrators or managers, although a number of critical front-line providers were identified as well. Each subject provided an oral history of their experience prior to, during, and in the weeks and months after Hurricane Katrina. Interviews were audio-taped and transcribed, coded and analyzed. A striking finding from the data was the extraordinary range of activities public health workers carried out and the profound challenges they experienced both personally and professionally as a result of this unprecedented disaster. The extent of the psychological impact of their response to the disaster is related the complexity of being disaster responders and victims at the same time. We will explore these issues through hearing their experiences in their own words.