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Disaster Preparedness: A Comparative Study of North Carolina and Montana

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  20 May 2014

Tatjana Gazibara ,
Haomiao Jia  and
Erica I. Lubetkin
Tatjana Gazibara*
Affiliation:
Department of Community Health and Social Medicine, Sophie Davis School of Biomedical Education, The City College of New York, New York Institute of Epidemiology, Faculty of Medicine, University of Belgrade, Belgrade, Serbia
Haomiao Jia
Affiliation:
Department of Biostatistics, Mailman School of Public Health and School of Nursing, Columbia University, New York, New York
Erica I. Lubetkin
Affiliation:
Department of Community Health and Social Medicine, Sophie Davis School of Biomedical Education, The City College of New York, New York
*
Address correspondence and reprint requests to Tatjana Gazibara, MD, PhD, Institute of Epidemiology, Faculty of Medicine, University of Belgrade, Visegradska 26A, Belgrade 11000, Serbia (e-mail gazibara@drenik.net).
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Abstract

Objective

The emergency preparedness of residents of North Carolina and Montana were compared.

Methods

General preparedness was evaluated using responses to 4 questions related to a household's 3-day supply of water, 3-day supply of nonperishable food, a working battery-operated radio, and a working battery-operated flashlight. Each positive answer was awarded 1 point to create an emergency preparedness score that ranged from 0 (minimum) to 4 (maximum). Results were assessed statistically.

Results

The average emergency preparedness score did not differ between the 2 states (P = .513). One factor influencing higher preparedness in both states was being male. Other influencing factors in North Carolina were older age, being a race/ethnicity other than white, having an annual income of $35 000 or more, having children in the household, better (excellent/very good/good) self-reported health, and not being disabled. In contrast, other factors influencing higher emergency preparedness in Montana were having a college degree and being married or partnered.

Conclusions

A divergence was found in factors influencing the likelihood of being prepared. These factors were likely a result of different sociodemographic and geographic characteristics between the 2 states. (Disaster Med Public Health Preparedness. 2014;0:1-4)

Keywords

disaster preparednessBRFSSMontanaNorth Carolina
Type
Brief Report
Information
Disaster Medicine and Public Health Preparedness , Volume 8 , Issue 3 , June 2014 , pp. 239 - 242
Copyright
Copyright © Society for Disaster Medicine and Public Health, Inc. 2014 

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