Paper
Thursday, 20 July 2006
This presentation is part of : Public Health Strategies
Pre-Katrina Assessment of Family Preparedness for Terrorism and Disasters in a Rural Mississippi Community
Carl Mangum, RN, MSN, CHS, School of Nursing, University of Mississippi, Jackson, MS, USA
Learning Objective #1: identify the planning that had been done by families for disasters proir to Hurricane Katrina.
Learning Objective #2: discuss the importance of individual and family preparedness for disasters and terrorism.
     The purpose of this study was to survey a community to determine their readiness for disasters and identify additional areas of opportunity to assist families in the community with preparedness activities.      The research questions that were addressed were: How does the individual family’s knowledge, skill and attitude relate to their preparedness for terrorism and disaster? What other training, education, and information do individual families need to be prepared, in the home, for terrorism and disasters that may occur in their community?     This pilot study was conducted in Hinds County in south central Mississippi. A ten item questionnaire using a Likert scale and open-ended questions was made available to all households in a community through the local newspaper making this a convenience sample. Participants responded by mailing the completed questionnaire back to the researchers or by answering the questionnaire on a provided website. The questionnaires had no place for name or identifying information. A 90 day period in early summer 2005 was used to collect data. The overall results were not surprising; most people still do not have an emergency plan for home or communication and have it written down and only little more than a quarter of the families have a home disaster kit ready and less than 10% have an emergency kit for their car. The overwhelming majority receive their information from television. The greatest perceived threat seems to be tornadoes. Family information for planning and recovery seems to be the greatest request. The results show a definite need for public education on disaster planning for the family. Additional research was planned for south Mississippi for early fall 2005. The catastrophe of Katrina placed that on hold until the area has recovered to a point that it would be appropriate.

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