Vulnerable populations and communities lacking resources may be disproportionately affected in the event of a public health emergency. Preexisting social conditions among vulnerable populations including low socioeconomic status and poor educational systems, contribute to the vulnerability of communities in the face of disaster. The Duquesne City, Pennsylvania community is a vulnerable population likely to be disproportionately affected in the event of an emergency. The primary objectives for the Duquesne Emergency Preparedness Project were to: 1) Examine the literacy level and assumptions underlying existing preparedness guides; 2) Define risk perceptions and understand information-seeking behaviors of residents in Duquesne, PA; 3) Better understand the challenges faced by low-resource populations in utilizing emergency preparedness materials and use this understanding to make recommendations for the development of educational preparedness materials and a community-based model for emergency preparedness.
The literacy level and assumptions underlying existing emergency preparedness educational guides were assessed and evaluated for their relevance for the Duquesne community. In order to make recommendations for the development of emergency preparedness educational materials relevant to low literacy and resource poor communities, the Project also investigated the risk perceptions and information seeking behaviors of Duquesne community members and explored existing strengths, weaknesses and perceived individual and community emergency capabilities through focus group discussions and surveying. Study conclusions include: 1) People in Duquesne and surrounding areas do not view emergencies or disasters as impending high-risk events; 2) A serious communication disconnect exists between local officials, agencies and the public; and 3) Individuals are largely unfamiliar with existing citizen preparedness materials, perhaps because this information has not percolated into these communities, tends to focus on low-probability and abstract events, exceeds the literacy level of these populations and is not consistent with the needs of vulnerable populations.
A paucity of information on the emergency preparedness needs of low-resource populations exist in the literature and understanding these needs is essential for community-based public health preparedness. Conclusions of the Duquesne Emergency Preparedness Project reveal important insights about the emergency preparedness needs of vulnerable populations and have important implications for public health approaches to preparedness for low-resource communities.
| Identifer | oai:union.ndltd.org:PITT/oai:PITTETD:etd-04102008-102452 |
| Date | 27 June 2008 |
| Creators | Delestienne, Emilie Hoffman |
| Contributors | Martha Ann Terry, PhD, Samuel Stebbins, MD, MPH, Patricia I. Documet, MD, DrPH, Ravi K. Sharma, PhD |
| Publisher | University of Pittsburgh |
| Source Sets | University of Pittsburgh |
| Language | English |
| Detected Language | English |
| Type | text |
| Format | application/pdf |
| Source | http://etd.library.pitt.edu/ETD/available/etd-04102008-102452/ |
| Rights | unrestricted, I hereby certify that, if appropriate, I have obtained and attached hereto a written permission statement from the owner(s) of each third party copyrighted matter to be included in my thesis, dissertation, or project report, allowing distribution as specified below. I certify that the version I submitted is the same as that approved by my advisory committee. I hereby grant to University of Pittsburgh or its agents the non-exclusive license to archive and make accessible, under the conditions specified below, my thesis, dissertation, or project report in whole or in part in all forms of media, now or hereafter known. I retain all other ownership rights to the copyright of the thesis, dissertation or project report. I also retain the right to use in future works (such as articles or books) all or part of this thesis, dissertation, or project report. |
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