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Post-disaster quality of life among older survivors five years after the Bam earthquake: implications for recovery policy

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  02 November 2010

A. ARDALAN ,
M. MAZAHERI ,
M. VANROOYEN ,
H. MOWAFI ,
S. NEDJAT ,
K. HOLAKOUIE NAIENI  and
M. RUSSEL
A. ARDALAN*
Affiliation:
Department of Health in Emergencies and Disasters, National Institute of Health Research, Tehran University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran. Disaster Public Health Department, School of Public Health, Tehran University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran.
M. MAZAHERI
Affiliation:
Department of Neurobiology, Care Sciences and Society, Karolinska Institute, Stockholm, Sweden. Faculty of Nursing and Midwifery, Tehran University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran.
M. VANROOYEN
Affiliation:
Harvard Humanitarian Initiative, Harvard University, Cambridge, Massachusetts, USA.
H. MOWAFI
Affiliation:
Harvard Humanitarian Initiative, Harvard University, Cambridge, Massachusetts, USA. Department of Emergency Medicine, Boston University, Cambridge, Massachusetts, USA.
S. NEDJAT
Affiliation:
Department of Biostatistics and Epidemiology, Knowledge Utilization Research Centre, Tehran University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran.
K. HOLAKOUIE NAIENI
Affiliation:
Department of Biostatistics and Epidemiology, Tehran University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran.
M. RUSSEL
Affiliation:
Iranian Research Centre on Ageing at the University of Social Welfare and Rehabilitation Sciences, Tehran, Iran.
*
Address for correspondence: Ali Ardalan, No. 78, Italia Ave, Department of Health in Emergencies and Disasters, National Institute of Health Research, Tehran University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran. E-mail: aardalan@gmail.comoraardalan@tums.ac.ir
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Abstract

Older people are among the most vulnerable in major disasters. In their aftermath, it is crucial to institute efforts that will maintain a high level of elders' quality of life (QoL). This paper presents QoL assessments of elderly survivors five years after the Bam earthquake in Iran, and evaluates the determinants. A cross-sectional analysis of 210 randomly-selected survivors was carried out in 2008 using the WHOQOL-BREF questionnaire. A comparison of the results with data on the general population showed that experiencing the earthquake may adversely affect psychological dimensions of QoL even five years after, but paradoxically the earthquake resulted in better social relationships in affected communities than in the general population. Lower QoL associated with female gender, higher age, living alone, severe earthquake-related injury, poor quality of living conditions, increased dependency in the activities of daily living, living in an urban area, and being temporarily housed. Recovery experts and donors should carry out long-term monitoring of health status and QoL in disaster-affected communities, with a focus on psychological wellbeing. Intervention programmes that emphasise post-disaster quality of care and satisfactory housing may lead to better QoL of the victims and may shorten the recovery phase.

Keywords

elderlydisasterearthquakequality of lifeIran
Type
Articles
Information
Ageing & Society , Volume 31 , Issue 2 , February 2011 , pp. 179 - 196
Copyright
Copyright © Cambridge University Press 2010

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