DISASTER ISSUES
Care of the elderly
·
What
challenges and issues does a volunteer disaster preparedness worker need to
understand in working with the elderly?
·
The
elderly should not be categorized by age but by functional capacity to deal
with the activities needed to prepare
for a disaster
·
How
do we asses these functional capacities?
o Basic activities of daily living
§
Can
they take care of themselves (eat, mobility , hygiene,
dress themselves)?
§
Functional
Continuum
Ascertaining level
of capacity:
·
Stages
that will guide assistance needed and level of intervention
o
o
o Semi-dependent: community group living
providing safety
o Dependence (partial to full): shelter/institution/hospital.
Disaster impact presents an insult to the
already declining functioning in the elderly. The aid worker must ascertain how
much and how best to help? How do we
structure the system to help minimize impact whether the individual remains in
the home or in a shelter?
Premise: Change
in function is expectable in the elderly. Different physiologic systems have
different rates of change. We need to measure each individual needs.
Have the Elderly Fared Differently in
Disasters From Other Groups?
Not much
research has been published on this subject, but the elderly can fare well if
they are healthy, have a perceived support group that has a good “fit”, and
obtain assistance in dealing with their reactions to loss, change and grieving.
They need help due to a lack of capacity to anticipate and cope with potential
dangers. They may be vulnerable to the
difficulties produced by the imminent danger and have increasing difficulty in
recovering from the effect of the disaster.
The elderly
population’s motivation to adequately prepare for the distant threat of a
hurricane must be determined. Is motivating the elder populations more of
a challenge and if so, how should that challenge be addressed?
Communication
with the elderly population is a process that requires receiving,
understanding, believing and personalizing the contents of the message. These processes influence motivation.
In our multi-cultural
population, it is not sufficient to simply transmit disaster warning signals, as
the message content will be interpreted differently within the socio-cultural
context of the individuals hearing the message. Variables such as language,
literacy, household and family status, and immigration situation must be
considered during the “warning” and “watch” periods when interacting with
individuals. Economics, job status, health capacity and lack of information how
to proceed are barriers to preparedness.
Most individuals
will move through a multi-stage decision-making process, which includes
comprehension, believing the danger is real, and deciding that acting is beneficial
and necessary. For action to occur, the individual must be convinced that
protective behavior is necessary and possible. The content of the warning
messages must be personalized to motivate the desired behavioral response.
In the elderly
population, active seniors can be recruited and used as volunteer disaster
preparedness and response workers. What are the challenges in fully engaging
them as volunteers?
The elderly can
be reached through churches, clubs and educational organizations. They must understand what is expected of
them, be provided with a specific schedule of their commitment, receive
assistance with transportation, and get supportive and detailed training.
Training which can
make volunteers more effective in disaster preparedness work (Train the Trainers
Curriculum):
·
Personalized
approach with small number of participants
·
Content
knowledge - how to train and motivate
·
Tailor
message to meet needs of community
·
General
introduction to the training course
·
Trainers
introduce themselves
·
Describe
the day’s activities
·
Trainees
introduce themselves and express their needs
·
Explanation
of why special training is needed to prepare volunteers to help individuals in
the community
o Psychosocial and emotional issues
impeding action in preparedness
o Historic development of disaster impact -
individual and community
o Discuss:
stressor-stress reactions; loss and bereavement; coping; resiliency
o Training content objectives using the
textbook Are You Prepared - present
and discuss content
·
Present
and review
o Planning: necessity for information - how
do they obtain updated factual content?
o Preparation: necessary resources - who provides them?
o Protect: requires capacity and energy - who
helps?
o Practice: who provides assistance?