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Older Adults and Social Support in a Disaster Context: Did Relocation Matter for Access to Social Network Resources After the 2015 South Carolina Flood?

Part of: Floods collection

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  02 December 2019

Marian Botchway Open the ORCID record for Marian Botchway [Opens in a new window] ,
Ana Teixeira  and
Spencer Moore
Marian Botchway*
Affiliation:
Department of Health Promotion, Education, and Behavior, Arnold School of Public Health, University of South Carolina, Columbia, South Carolina
Ana Teixeira
Affiliation:
Department of Epidemiology and Biostatistics, Arnold School of Public Health, University of South Carolina, Columbia, South Carolina
Spencer Moore
Affiliation:
Department of Health Promotion, Education, and Behavior, Arnold School of Public Health, University of South Carolina, Columbia, South Carolina
*
Correspondence and reprint requests to Marian Botchway, 4143 Jenkins and Nanovic Halls, Notre Dame, IN 46556 (e-mail: mbotchwa@nd.edu).
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Abstract

Objectives:

The aim of this study was to examine social network characteristics and social support (emotional and instrumental support) and to determine how those factors differed between relocating older adults and nonrelocating older adults who were affected by the 2015 flood in South Carolina.

Methods:

Twenty-five community-dwelling elderly (CDE) were interviewed between December 2015 and May 2016 to learn about their experiences in the immediate aftermath of the flood. Ego-centric network data were collected with a focus on social network members and the types of flood-related support that these network members provided.

Results:

Ten of 25 CDE relocated because of the flood. All CDE were more likely to receive social support from female network members and family members than from other acquaintances. Relocating CDE received significantly less emotional support in comparison to nonrelocating CDE. The odds of receiving instrumental support were higher, but nonsignificant, among relocating CDE in comparison to nonrelocating CDE.

Conclusions:

The findings around the support provision are concerning particularly because of the additional psychological burden that relocation can place on flood-affected, older adults. Recommendations for public health preparedness strategies are provided in addition to future research directions for examining the well-being of flood-affected, older adults.

Keywords

older adultsrelocationnatural disasterssocial support
Type
Original Research
Information
Disaster Medicine and Public Health Preparedness , Volume 15 , Issue 1 , February 2021 , pp. 50 - 57
Copyright
Copyright © 2019 Society for Disaster Medicine and Public Health, Inc.

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