2015/08/20 by SATO ASHIDA, Sato Ashida, Erin Robinson +5
Health Professions · Medicine · Psychology · Social Sciences · #Disaster Management and Resilience #Disaster Response and Management #Emergency management #Gerontology #Medicine #Perception #Political science #Preparedness #Psychological resilience #Psychology #Public relations #Resilience and Mental Health #Social psychology
paper · doi:10.1017/s0144686x15000914
crossref issued 2015/08/20 · crossref published 2015/08/20 · crossref published-online 2015/08/20 · openalex publication_date 2015/08/20 · crossref created 2015/08/24 · crossref published-print 2016/11/01 · crossref deposited 2019/04/18 · openalex created_date 2025/10/10 · crossref indexed 2026/08/01 · openalex updated_date 2026/08/01
In the United States of America (USA), older adults in rural areas are at increased risk for adverse outcomes of disasters, partly due to medical needs, limited or long geographic distances from community resources, and less knowledge and motivation about preparedness steps. Older residents and ageing service providers in a rural community in the USA were interviewed regarding their perceptions about disasters and preparedness, and their reactions to the preparedness training programme using the concepts of the Extended Parallel Process Model. Participants generally indicated low motivation to engage in preparedness behaviours despite perceptions of personal risk and beliefs that preparedness behaviours were easy and could improve disaster outcomes. A theme of social relationships emerged from the data, with participants identifying social relationships as resources, barriers and motivators. People surrounding older adults can support or deter their preparedness behaviours, and sometimes elicit a desire to protect the wellbeing of others. Findings suggest two potential strategies to facilitate preparedness behaviours by moving beyond personal benefits: highlighting older adults' increased ability to protect the wellbeing of younger generations and their community by being prepared themselves, and engaging family, friends and neighbours in preparedness programmes to enhance the resilience of their social groups. Older adults in many cultures have a desire to contribute to their society. Novel and effective approaches to increase preparedness could target their social groups.