259092 Emergency preparedness communication capacity of community based organizations serving older adult and Deaf/hard of hearing populations

Sunday, October 28, 2012

Melissa Kealey, PhD, MPH, CPH , School of Public Health, University of California, Berkeley, Berkeley, CA
William Satariano, PhD , School of Public Health, University of California, Berkeley, Berkeley, CA
Susan L. Ivey, MD, MHSA , Health Research for Action, School of Public Health, University of California, Berkeley, Berkeley, CA
Donna Dahrouge, MPH , Health Research for Action, UC Berkeley School of Public Health, Berkeley, CA
Winston Tseng, PhD , Health Research for Action, School of Public Health, University of California, Berkeley, Berkeley, CA
Alina Engelman, DrPH, MPH , School of Public Health, University of California, Berkeley, Berkeley, CA
Debbie Huang, BS , Health Research for Action, School of Public Health, University of California, Berkeley, Berkeley, CA
Sidhanta Gurung , School of Public Health, University of California, Berkeley, Berkeley, CA
Linda Neuhauser, DrPH , Health Research for Action, School of Public Health, University of California, Berkeley, Berkeley, CA
Substantial evidence exists that all-hazards emergency preparedness are not effectively reaching vulnerable populations, especially those who have barriers related to literacy, language, culture, age, or disability—90 million Americans have low literacy, 22 million are limited English-proficient, 35.6 million Americans are over age 65, and 32 million are Deaf or hard of hearing (Deaf/HH). There is little information about how community-based organizations (CBOs) contribute to emergency preparedness. We assessed all-hazards preparedness communication for selected vulnerable populations by CBOs. We conducted key informant (KI) interviews with leaders of CBOs in Alameda County that serve older adult populations, and CBOs in the San Francisco Bay Area that serve Deaf/HH populations. The entire universe of Deaf/HH serving organizations identified in the Bay Area were invited to participate in KI interviews, and 14 interviews were completed. Senior-serving organizations in Alameda County were stratified into four categories: Senior Centers, Senior Residences, In-home Services, and Multi-Service Health Organizations. Five organizations from each category were randomly sampled for a total of 20 senior-serving organizations key informant interviews completed. Interviews were also completed with the two public health departments located in Alameda County, for a total of 36 KI interviews. Half of senior-serving organizations and less than half of Deaf/HH-serving organizations reported providing emergency preparedness educational materials to their clients or caregivers. Less than half of the organizations interviewed reported collaborating with their local health department regarding emergency preparedness. Many organizations expressed a desire for increased collaboration with city organizations.

Learning Areas:
Assessment of individual and community needs for health education
Communication and informatics
Conduct evaluation related to programs, research, and other areas of practice
Public health or related research
Social and behavioral sciences

Learning Objectives:
At the conclusion of this activity, the participant will be able to: Assess the state of emergency preparedness communication by community based organizations for older adult in Alameda County and Deaf/HH populations in the San Francisco Bay Area. Describe the facilitators and barriers to effective emergency preparedness communication by community based organizations. Discuss the potential for collaboration with community based organizations that serve older adults and Deaf/HH populations to improve emergency preparedness communication.

Keywords: Emergency, Deaf

Presenting author's disclosure statement:

Qualified on the content I am responsible for because: I have done research on healthy aging, mobility, and emergency preparedness as part of the Healthy Aging Research Network (HAN) and the Preparedness and Emergency Response Research Centers (PERRC) at UC Berkeley, first as a graduate student and now as a post-doc.
Any relevant financial relationships? No

I agree to comply with the American Public Health Association Conflict of Interest and Commercial Support Guidelines, and to disclose to the participants any off-label or experimental uses of a commercial product or service discussed in my presentation.

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