Rachel M Adams1, Helene Rivard, David P Eisenman. 1. Emergency Preparedness and Response Program, Los Angeles County Department of Public Health, Los Angeles, California (Mss Adams and Rivard and Dr Eisenman); Department of Community Health Sciences, Fielding School of Public Health, University of California, Los Angeles (Ms Adams); and Center for Public Health and Disasters, Fielding School of Public Health, University of California, Los Angeles (Dr Eisenman).
Abstract
CONTEXT: The Los Angeles County Community Disaster Resilience project is a community-based program to improve disaster resilience. We collected baseline measures of resilience-related attitudes and practices among targeted communities prior to the implementation of the intervention. OBJECTIVES: This study identified community disaster resilience behavior patterns and assessed their associations with sociodemographic and social cognitive characteristics. DESIGN: Telephone surveys during summer 2013. SETTING: Sixteen communities in Los Angeles County (2 per service planning area). PARTICIPANTS: The address-based sample of adults (≥18) was selected to be representative of 2010 census tracts in each of the communitiesMAIN OUTCOME MEASURES:: We examined relationships between sociodemographic characteristics, social cognitive factors, and participation in community disaster resilience activities. RESULTS: Three clusters of community resilience behavior patterns emerged. Cluster distribution significantly differed across several sociodemographic and social cognitive factors. Participants who were African American, Hispanic, had higher education, income, self-efficacy, trust in the public health department, civic engagement, and social capital were significantly associated with being in the cluster most active in resilience-building activities. CONCLUSIONS: The results confirm that there are distinct community resilience behavior patterns. These patterns vary according to population characteristics, which supports audience segmentation approaches and developing a range of emergency preparedness programs targeted to the strengths and weaknesses of the different audience segments.
CONTEXT: The Los Angeles County Community Disaster Resilience project is a community-based program to improve disaster resilience. We collected baseline measures of resilience-related attitudes and practices among targeted communities prior to the implementation of the intervention. OBJECTIVES: This study identified community disaster resilience behavior patterns and assessed their associations with sociodemographic and social cognitive characteristics. DESIGN: Telephone surveys during summer 2013. SETTING: Sixteen communities in Los Angeles County (2 per service planning area). PARTICIPANTS: The address-based sample of adults (≥18) was selected to be representative of 2010 census tracts in each of the communitiesMAIN OUTCOME MEASURES:: We examined relationships between sociodemographic characteristics, social cognitive factors, and participation in community disaster resilience activities. RESULTS: Three clusters of community resilience behavior patterns emerged. Cluster distribution significantly differed across several sociodemographic and social cognitive factors. Participants who were African American, Hispanic, had higher education, income, self-efficacy, trust in the public health department, civic engagement, and social capital were significantly associated with being in the cluster most active in resilience-building activities. CONCLUSIONS: The results confirm that there are distinct community resilience behavior patterns. These patterns vary according to population characteristics, which supports audience segmentation approaches and developing a range of emergency preparedness programs targeted to the strengths and weaknesses of the different audience segments.
Authors: Rachel M Adams; Beth Karlin; David P Eisenman; Johanna Blakley; Deborah Glik Journal: Int J Environ Res Public Health Date: 2017-11-17 Impact factor: 3.390