IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/gam/jijerp/v19y2022i4p2156-d749159.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

Assessing the Emergency Response Role of Community-Based Organizations (CBOs) Serving People with Disabilities and Older Adults in Puerto Rico Post-Hurricane María and during the COVID-19 Pandemic

Author

Listed:
  • Alina Engelman

    (Department of Public Health, California State University, East Bay, Hayward, CA 94542, USA)

  • Mariana T. Guzzardo

    (Department of Human Development and Women’s Studies, California State University, East Bay, Hayward, CA 94542, USA)

  • Marley Antolin Muñiz

    (Department of Public Health, California State University, East Bay, Hayward, CA 94542, USA)

  • Laura Arenas

    (Department of Public Health, California State University, East Bay, Hayward, CA 94542, USA)

  • Aracely Gomez

    (Department of Public Health, California State University, East Bay, Hayward, CA 94542, USA)

Abstract

In Puerto Rico, a host of factors makes the role of community-based organizations (CBOs) critically important in emergency preparedness and response (EPR) and disability-inclusive disaster risk reduction (DiDRR) addressing the needs of people with disabilities and older adults. The territory has been the site of recurring hurricanes, earthquakes, medical crises, and human-made disasters. Political, social, and economic problems unique to the archipelago have historically limited the preparedness and response capacity of governmental authorities, especially for its most at-risk populations. In a context of severe constraints on government resources, CBOs are positioned to play an outsized role in providing services for disabled and older adults before, during, and after emergencies. This study assesses the emergency preparedness and response capacity of CBOs ( n = 22) for addressing the needs of people with disabilities and the elderly. Semi-structured, largely closed-ended interviews were conducted in Spanish with key informants at Puerto Rican CBOs. The interviews included questions about emergency preparedness and response training, as well as organizational capacity during COVID-19 and post-Hurricane María. This study posits that conditions in Puerto Rico place CBOs at the forefront of critical responsibilities including emergency preparedness and response, warranting assessment of their practices and resources to assist them in fulfilling their mission.

Suggested Citation

  • Alina Engelman & Mariana T. Guzzardo & Marley Antolin Muñiz & Laura Arenas & Aracely Gomez, 2022. "Assessing the Emergency Response Role of Community-Based Organizations (CBOs) Serving People with Disabilities and Older Adults in Puerto Rico Post-Hurricane María and during the COVID-19 Pandemic," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 19(4), pages 1-21, February.
    • Handle: RePEc:gam:jijerp:v:19:y:2022:i:4:p:2156-:d:749159
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: https://www.mdpi.com/1660-4601/19/4/2156/pdf
    Download Restriction: no
    File URL: https://www.mdpi.com/1660-4601/19/4/2156/
    Download Restriction: no
    ---><---

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Raker, Ethan J. & Lowe, Sarah R. & Arcaya, Mariana C. & Johnson, Sydney T. & Rhodes, Jean & Waters, Mary C., 2019. "Twelve years later: The long-term mental health consequences of Hurricane Katrina," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 242(C).
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Maria M. Laurito & Elizabeth Frankenberg & Duncan Thomas, 2022. "Effects of Housing Aid on Psychosocial Health after a Disaster," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 19(12), pages 1-18, June.
    2. Sarah R Lowe & Ethan J Raker & Mary C Waters & Jean E Rhodes, 2020. "Predisaster predictors of posttraumatic stress symptom trajectories: An analysis of low-income women in the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina," PLOS ONE, Public Library of Science, vol. 15(10), pages 1-19, October.
    3. Ryan, Sophia C. & Sugg, Margaret M. & Runkle, Jennifer D. & Wertis, Luke & Singh, Devyani & Green, Shannon, 2024. "Short-term changes in mental health help-seeking behaviors following exposure to multiple social stressors and a natural disaster," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 348(C).
    4. Civelek, Yasin, 2023. "The effect of hurricanes on mental health over the long term," Economics & Human Biology, Elsevier, vol. 51(C).
    5. Han, Yang & Wei, Jianwen & Zhao, Yandong, 2021. "Long-term effects of housing damage on survivors’ health in rural China: Evidence from a survey 10 Years after the 2008 Wenchuan earthquake," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 270(C).
    6. Li, Ang & Toll, Mathew & Martino, Erika & Wiesel, Ilan & Botha, Ferdi & Bentley, Rebecca, 2023. "Vulnerability and recovery: Long-term mental and physical health trajectories following climate-related disasters," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 320(C).
    7. Bountress, Kaitlin E. & Gilmore, Amanda K. & Metzger, Isha W. & Aggen, Steven H. & Tomko, Rachel L. & Danielson, Carla Kmett & Williamson, Vernell & Vladmirov, Vladimir & Ruggiero, Kenneth & Amstadter, 2020. "Impact of disaster exposure severity: Cascading effects across parental distress, adolescent PTSD symptoms, as well as parent-child conflict and communication," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 264(C).
    8. Mann, Frank D. & Cuevas, Adolfo G. & Krueger, Robert F., 2021. "Cumulative stress: A general “s” factor in the structure of stress," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 289(C).
    9. Angela-Maithy Nguyen & Yeerae Kim & David M. Abramson, 2023. "Neighborhood Socioeconomic Status and Women’s Mental Health: A Longitudinal Study of Hurricane Katrina Survivors, 2005–2015," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 20(2), pages 1-18, January.
    10. Mengxi Zhang & Mark VanLandingham & Yoon Soo Park & Philip Anglewicz & David M Abramson, 2021. "Differences in post-disaster mental health among Vietnamese and African Americans living in adjacent urban communities flooded by Katrina," PLOS ONE, Public Library of Science, vol. 16(8), pages 1-10, August.
    11. Tatyana Deryugina, 2022. "Economic effects of natural disasters," IZA World of Labor, Institute of Labor Economics (IZA), pages 493-493, April.

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:gam:jijerp:v:19:y:2022:i:4:p:2156-:d:749159. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: MDPI Indexing Manager (email available below). General contact details of provider: https://www.mdpi.com .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.