Journal of Health Care for the Poor and Underserved
Volume 18, Issue 2, 2007, Pages 465-481

Emergency preparedness: Knowledge and perceptions of Latin American immigrants (Article)

Carter-Pokras O.* , Zambrana R.E. , Mora S.E. , Aaby K.A.
  • a Department of Epidemiology and Biostatistics, University of Maryland College Park (UMCP), United States
  • b Department of Women's Studies, Consortium on Race, Gender and Ethnicity, UMCP, United States
  • c Latino Health Initiative, Department of Health and Human Services, Montgomery County, MD, United States
  • d Montgomery County Advanced Practice Center, Public Health Emergency Preparedness and Response Program, Department of Health and Human Services, Montgomery County, United States

Abstract

This paper describes the level of public emergency knowledge and perceptions of risks among Latin American immigrants, and their preferred and actual sources of emergency preparedness information (including warning signals). Five Latino community member focus groups, and one focus group of community health workers, were conducted in a suburban county of Washington D.C. (N=51). Participants came from 13 Latin American countries, and 64.7% immigrated during the previous five years. Participants had difficulty denning emergency and reported a wide range of perceived personal emergency risks: immigration problems; crime, personal insecurity, gangs; home/traffic accidents; home fires; environmental problems; and snipers. As in previous studies, few participants had received information on emergency preparedness, and most did not have an emergency plan. Findings regarding key messages and motivating factors can be used to develop clear, prioritized messages for communication regarding emergencies and emergency preparedness for Latin American immigrant communities in the U.S.

Author Keywords

qualitative research culture Disaster planning Civil defense Terrorism Health education Hispanic Americans

Index Keywords

emergency perception Communication Barriers psychological aspect demography human risk assessment communication disorder middle aged Aged Hispanic Americans knowledge Humans Hispanic Adolescent male female cultural factor Article adult migration disaster planning Emergencies Emigration and Immigration Cultural Characteristics
Link
https://www.scopus.com/inward/record.uri?eid=2-s2.0-34249328484&doi=10.1353%2fhpu.2007.0026&partnerID=40&md5=6f3307361df875bfcaf2c8735a990810
DOI: 10.1353/hpu.2007.0026
ISSN: 10492089
Cited by: 47
Original Language: English