Challenges faced by the chronically ill and disabled in high-risk hurricane areas

Robert J. Blendon, ScD; John M. Connolly, MSEd; John M. Benson, MA; Tami Buhr, AM; William E. Pollard, PhD; Elizabeth W. Mitchell, PhD

doi:10.5055/jem.2009.0036

Authors

Robert J. Blendon, ScD
John M. Connolly, MSEd
John M. Benson, MA
Tami Buhr, AM
William E. Pollard, PhD
Elizabeth W. Mitchell, PhD

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.5055/jem.2009.0036

Keywords:

hurricane, disability, chronic illness, preparedness, information seeking, emergency, evacuation

Abstract

Using results from three surveys of adults in highrisk hurricane areas in eight Southern coastal states, this article examines the challenges faced by people from households where someone has a chronic illness or disability and would need help to evacuate. The analysis finds that 43 percent of people in this vulnerable group had not arranged the help they would need to evacuate. They had different reasons than other adults for why they would or might not evacuate in a future hurricane and were more likely than others (22 to 10 percent) to say they would go to an evacuation center if they did evacuate. Among those who had experience with a recent hurricane, people in this vulnerable group had encountered many more problems than others during and immediately after the storm, including more than one in four who suffered from heat exhaustion, who did not get needed prescription medicines, or who did not have enough fresh water.

Author Biographies

Robert J. Blendon, ScD

Department of Health Policy and Management, Harvard School of Public Health, Boston, Massachusetts.

John M. Connolly, MSEd

Department of Health Policy and Management, Harvard School of Public Health, Boston, Massachusetts.

John M. Benson, MA

Department of Health Policy and Management, Harvard School of Public Health, Boston, Massachusetts.

Tami Buhr, AM

Opinion Dynamics Corporation, Waltham, Massachusetts.

William E. Pollard, PhD

Division of Health Communication & Marketing Strategy, National Center for Health Marketing, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Atlanta, Georgia.

Elizabeth W. Mitchell, PhD

Division of Health Communication & Marketing Strategy, National Center for Health Marketing, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Atlanta, Georgia.

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