RESUMEN
OBJECTIVE: We identify characteristics of local health departments, which enhance collaborations with community- and faith-based organizations (CFBOs) for emergency preparedness and response. METHODS: Online survey data were collected from a sample of 273 disaster preparedness coordinators working at local health departments across the United States between August and December 2011. RESULTS: Using multiple linear regression models, we found that perceptions of CFBO trust were associated with more successful partnership planning (ß=0.63; P=0.02) and capacity building (ß=0.61; P=0.01). Employee layoffs in the past 3 years (ß=0.41; P=0.001) and urban location (ß=0.41; P=0.005) were positively associated with higher ratings of resource sharing between health agencies and CFBOs. Having 1-3 full-time employees increased the ratings of success in communication and outreach activities compared with health departments having less than 1 full-time employee (ß=0.33; P=0.05). Positive attitudes toward CFBOs also enhanced communication and outreach (ß=0.16; P=0.03). CONCLUSIONS: Staff-capacity factors are important for quick dissemination of information and resources needed to address emerging threats. Building the trust of CFBOs can help address large-scale disasters by improving the success of more involved activities that integrate the CFBO into emergency plans and operations of the health department and that better align with federal-funding performance measures. (Disaster Med Public Health Preparedness. 2018;12:57-66).
Asunto(s)
Defensa Civil/métodos , Organizaciones Religiosas/estadística & datos numéricos , Salud Pública/estadística & datos numéricos , Asociación entre el Sector Público-Privado/estadística & datos numéricos , Adulto , Defensa Civil/normas , Relaciones Comunidad-Institución/tendencias , Conducta Cooperativa , Femenino , Humanos , Internet , Masculino , Persona de Mediana Edad , Salud Pública/métodos , Encuestas y Cuestionarios , Estados Unidos , Recursos HumanosRESUMEN
We studied the relationship between psychological distress and relative resource and risk predictors, including loss of solace from the landscape (solastalgia), one year after the Wallow Fire, in Arizona, United States. Solastalgia refers to the distress caused by damage to the surrounding natural environment and it has not been examined for its relationship to psychological health. Doing so opens avenues of research that inquire into how land management might be able to support improved community resilience and psychological health outcomes after a wildfire. In 2012, we conducted a household survey mailed to all 1387 households in the five communities surrounding the fire. The Kessler Psychological Distress Scale assessed psychological distress. In the multivariate analysis, higher solastalgia score and an adverse financial impact of the fire were associated with clinically significant psychological distress. Annual household income ≥ $80,000 and a higher family functioning score were associated with less psychological distress. Part-time residents were no more likely to have psychological distress than full-time residents. We conclude that dramatic transformation of a landscape by an environmental event such as a wildfire can reduce its value as a source of solace. These results call for novel post-wildfire community recovery interventions that wed forest management and community psychology.
Asunto(s)
Víctimas de Desastres/psicología , Ecosistema , Incendios , Trastornos Mentales/etiología , Resiliencia Psicológica , Estrés Psicológico/etiología , Poblaciones Vulnerables/psicología , Adulto , Anciano , Anciano de 80 o más Años , Arizona , Femenino , Humanos , Masculino , Persona de Mediana Edad , Factores SocioeconómicosRESUMEN
OBJECTIVE: This study presents reliability and validity findings for the Assessment for Disaster Engagement with Partners Tool (ADEPT), an instrument that can be used to monitor the frequency and nature of collaborative activities between local health departments (LHDs) and community-based organizations (CBOs) and faith-based organizations (FBOs) for disaster preparedness, response, and recovery. METHODS: We used formative research to develop the instrument by ranking LHDs according to their disaster outreach and engagement activities. We validated the scale through a 2011 national survey of disaster preparedness coordinators (n=273) working in LHDs. We reduced the original measure of 25 items to a final measure comprising 15 items with four dimensions: (1) communication outreach and coordination, (2) resource mobilization, (3) organizational capacity building, and (4) partnership development and maintenance. We used internal consistency reliability m correlation and factor analysis to validate the measure. RESULTS: Using internal consistency reliability, we found reasonable inter-item reliability for the four hypothesized dimensions (Cronbach's alpha: 0.71-0.88). These four dimensions were confirmed through correlation and factor analysis (Varimax rotation). CONCLUSION: Higher scores on all four dimensions of ADEPT for organizational respondents suggest that more activities were conducted for inter-organizational preparedness in those organizations than in organizations whose respondents had lower scores. This finding implies that organizations with higher ADEPT scores have more active relationships with CBOs/FBOs in the realm of preparedness, a key element for creating community resilience for emergencies and disaster preparedness.