Who Participates in Building Disaster Resilient Communities: A Cluster-Analytic Approach

The Role of Trust in Disaster Risk Reduction: A Critical Review

In recent years, there has been a growing interest in the concept of trust within the domain of natural disaster management. Trust can be defined as a state of vulnerability where one party relies on another party with the expectation that the latter will carry out entrusted responsibilities without exploiting this inherent vulnerability. This comprehensive literature review is dedicated to the examination of research concerning community and institutional trust in the field of disaster risk reduction (DRR). Particular emphasis is placed on elucidating the influence of trust throughout the distinct phases of natural disaster management, namely prevention, preparedness, response, and recovery. The critical examination of the pertinent body of the literature demonstrates that trust plays a central role across the different phases of DRR, being positively associated with effective community responses and resilience. Hence, it becomes imperative to actively foster the development of trust at both institutional and community levels within the realm of DRR. This endeavor is essential for adequately preparing communities to confront natural disasters, crafting effective protocols to enhance community responsiveness and mitigate adverse consequences, and advancing strategies for successful reconstruction and recovery.

Patterns of Cross-Sector Collaboration in Local Health Departments: A Cluster Analysis

Local health departments (LHDs) are positioned to act as the community health strategist for their catchment area, which requires cross-sector collaboration. However, little research exists to understand how much and what types of cross-sector collaboration occur and its impact on LHD practice. Data from 490 LHDs who participated in the 2016 National Profile of Local Health Departments survey were analyzed to identify patterns of cross-sector collaboration among LHDs. In the survey, LHDs reported the presence of collaborative activities for each of 22 categories of organizations. Factor analysis was used to identify patterns in the types of organizations with which LHDs collaborate. Then, cluster analysis was conducted to identify patterns in the types of cross-sector collaboration, and cross-sectional analyses examined which LHD characteristics were associated with cluster assignment. LHDs collaborated most with traditional health care-oriented organizations, but less often with organizations focused on upstream determinants of health such as housing. Three distinct clusters represented collaboration patterns in LHDs: coordinators, networkers, and low-collaborators. LHDs who were low-collaborators were more likely to serve smaller populations, be unaccredited, have a smaller workforce, have a White top executive, and have a top executive without a graduate degree. These findings imply that public health practitioners should prioritize building bridges to a variety of organizations and engage in collaboration beyond information sharing. Furthermore, LHDs should prioritize accreditation and workforce development activities for supporting cross-sector collaboration. With these investments, the public health system can better address the social and structural determinants of health and promote health equity.

Using Preparedness Exercise Tools to Train Public Health Teams to Address Access and Functional Needs During Emergencies in Rural Appalachia

Local public health agencies are a critical component of communities' ability to respond to and manage emergencies. This article outlines one public health agency's process for developing an all-inclusive, all-hazards public health plan to guide preparedness activities. The plan is interactive and searchable to enable it to be applied practically during an emergency. The new plan was developed using a collective action approach and is consistent with the whole community framework. It represents the perspectives of people with access and functional needs and better prepares local emergency management and response teams to anticipate these needs during emergencies. We created both a tabletop exercise and a full-scale exercise to train public health practitioners on the plan contents, as well as an exercise planning and implementation workbook that includes agendas, sample exercises, sample slides, and supporting documentation. These materials provide specific suggestions for supporting people with access and functional needs during emergency mitigation, preparedness, response, and recovery. In October 2017, more than 110 people participated in the tabletop exercise as part of the annual staff training at our local health department. One year later, we delivered a full-scale exercise. Nearly all relevant staff (95%) participated in both exercises, and 98% of participants reported that they had greater knowledge and resilience in mitigating and responding to public health emergencies as a result of their participation. We aim to include additional community members in future exercises to assure the plan meets everyone's needs. The current plan has increased the confidence level of local public health practitioners in responding to emergencies.

Community Advantage and Individual Self-Efficacy Promote Disaster Preparedness: A Multilevel Model among Persons with Disabilities

Disaster preparedness initiatives are increasingly focused on building community resilience. Preparedness research has correspondingly shifted its attention to community-level attributes that can support a community’s capacity to respond to and recover from disasters. While research at the community level is integral to building resilience, it may not address the specific barriers and motivators to getting individuals prepared. In particular, people with disabilities are vulnerable to disasters, yet research suggests that they are less likely to engage in preparedness behaviors. Limited research has examined what factors influence their ability to prepare, with no studies examining both the individual and community characteristics that impact these behaviors. Multilevel modeling thus offers a novel contribution that can assess both levels of influence. Using Los Angeles County community survey data from the Public Health Response to Emergent Threats Survey and the Healthy Places Index, we examined how social cognitive and community factors influence the relationship between disability and preparedness. Results from hierarchical linear regression models found that participants with poor health and who possessed activity limitations engaged in fewer preparedness behaviors. Self-efficacy significantly mediated the relationship between self-rated health and disaster preparedness. Living in a community with greater advantages, particularly with more advantaged social and housing attributes, reduced the negative association between poor self-rated health and preparedness. This study highlights the importance of both individual and community factors in influencing people with disabilities to prepare. Policy and programming should therefore be two-fold, both targeting self-efficacy as a proximal influence on preparedness behaviors and also addressing upstream factors related to community advantage that can create opportunities to support behavioral change while bolstering overall community resilience.

Attitudes, Motivators, and Barriers to Emergency Preparedness Using the 2016 Styles Survey

This study assessed adults' perceptions toward preparedness to better inform emergency planning efforts for households and communities. The 2016 Styles, an Internet panel survey, was used to assess emergency preparedness competencies. Descriptive analyses were performed to describe the sociodemographic factors by preparedness status. Multivariable logistic regressions were used to examine the association between perceived preparedness and characteristics associated with preparedness attitudes, motivators, and barriers. Approximately 40% of adults surveyed reported that they were prepared for emergencies. The main motivator for those prepared was awareness of local disasters (38.9%), and a leading barrier was confusion about how to plan for the unknown (23.7%). Those prepared were more likely to have the right supplies (adjusted odds ratio [AOR] = 1.25, 95% confidence interval [CI] = [1.05, 1.50]), discuss emergency plans (AOR = 1.21, 95% CI = [1.02-1.42]), and act before an emergency occurred (AOR = 1.35, 95% CI = [1.15, 1.59]), compared with adults who did not report being prepared. Results from this research indicate that identifying motivation to prepare for emergencies can contribute to public health disaster planning. Preparation is a critical step that allows the community and its citizens to be more equipped to function during and after a disaster.

Resilience of an Earthquake-Stricken Rural Community in Southwest China: Correlation with Disaster Risk Reduction Efforts

Disaster risk reduction (DRR) activities have given growing attention to building community resilience, but the effects of such efforts on community resilience are still under-investigated, especially in China where the concept of community resilience has only just emerged. Using the Communities Advancing Resilience Toolkit Assessment Survey, data on self-perceived community resilience were collected in 2017 from a post-disaster Chinese rural community in Yingxiu Town, which was the epicenter of the Wenchuan earthquake (Magnitude = 8.0) in the year 2008. Linear regression analyses were conducted to explore the correlations between residents’ DRR behaviors and perceived community resilience with the control of their socio-demographic characteristics including age, ethnicity, gender, education, income level, employment status and marital status. Results indicate that residents who volunteered for DRR activities, received geological disaster education, participated in evacuation drills, and reported higher income levels had a perception of higher community resilience. Practice research is suggested to help clarify the cause and effect of DRR work on the enhancement of community resilience to disasters in China and abroad. Attention is also called to the development of a Chinese indigenous community resilience concept and assessment instrument.

Who Participates in the Great ShakeOut? Why Audience Segmentation Is the Future of Disaster Preparedness Campaigns

Background: In 2008, the Southern California Earthquake Center in collaboration with the U.S. Geological Survey Earthquake Hazards Program launched the first annual Great ShakeOut, the largest earthquake preparedness drill in the history of the United States. Materials and Methods: We collected online survey data from 2052 campaign registrants to assess how people participated, whether audience segments shared behavioral patterns, and whether these segments were associated with five social cognitive factors targeted by the ShakeOut campaign. Results: Participants clustered into four behavioral patterns. The Minimal cluster had low participation in all activities (range: 0–39% participation). The Basic Drill cluster only participated in the drop, cover and hold drill (100% participation). The Community-Oriented cluster, involved in the drill (100%) and other interpersonal activities including attending disaster planning meetings (74%), was positively associated with interpersonal communication (β = 0.169), self-efficacy (β = 0.118), outcome efficacy (β = 0.110), and knowledge about disaster preparedness (β = 0.151). The Interactive and Games cluster, which participated in the drill (79%) and two online earthquake preparedness games (53% and 75%), was positively associated with all five social cognitive factors studied. Conclusions: Our results support audience segmentation approaches to engaging the public, which address the strengths and weaknesses of different segments. Offering games may help “gamers” gain competencies required to prepare for disasters. Targeting the highly active Community-Oriented cluster for leadership roles could help build community resilience by encouraging others to become more involved in disaster planning. We propose that the days of single, national education campaigns without local variation should end.