Disaster preparedness among Latino households in marion county, Oregon

Background/Purpose Despite years of campaigns at all levels of government after the September 11 attacks and 2005 Gulf Coast hurricanes to increase disaster preparedness among U.S. households, only a small portion is prepared. In particular, Latinos are often left out of mainstream messaging and are less prepared than non-Hispanic whites. The objectives of the study are to: 1) determine the level of disaster preparedness among Latino households in Marion County, Oregon; and 2) identify subgroups of Latinos who are ill-prepared for disasters.

Methods A 20 question survey was developed in English and Spanish based on the 2011 Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System (BRFSS) questionnaire. Questions regarding household preparedness were taken from the general preparedness module. To obtain a desired sample size of 385, four mailings were sent during January 2013 to a random sample of 1,500 addresses of Latino households identified by Spanish surname obtained from a private company. Key dependent variables include 1) presence of supplies of food, water, radio, and flashlight in the household (4 v. <4); 2) emergency evacuation plan; and 3) 3-day medication supply for all household members requiring medication. We will examine the association between key covariates and household preparedness using univariate, bivariate, and multivariate analyses.

Results/Outcomes At the time of abstract submission, over 300 completed surveys have been returned and entered into a database for analysis.

Conclusions A population-based assessment of disaster preparedness among Latino households is an important first step to developing culturally competent disaster communication material tailored to this population.