Citation

Glik DC, Eisenman DP, Zhou Q, Tseng CH, Asch SM. Health Educ. Res. 2014; 29(2): 272-283.

Affiliation

Department of Community Health Sciences, UCLA Fielding School of Public Health, 650 South Charles E. Young Drive, PO Box 95-1772, Los Angeles, CA 90095-1772, USA, Division of General Internal Medicine and Health Services Research, David Geffen School of Medicine at UCLA, Los Angeles, California 90095-1736, USA, Department of Medicine, VA, Greater Los Angeles Health Care System, Los Angeles, CA 90073, USA.

Copyright

(Copyright © 2014, Oxford University Press)

DOI

10.1093/her/cyt109

PMID

24399266

Abstract

Only 40-50% of households in the United States are currently disaster prepared. In this intervention study, respondent-driven sampling was used to select a sample (n = 187) of low income, Latino residents of Los Angeles County, randomly assigned into two treatment conditions: (i) household preparedness education received through 'promotora' (community health worker) led small group meetings, and (ii) household preparedness education received through print media. Weinstein's Precaution Adoption Process, a stage model appropriate for risk communication guided the intervention. Outcomes are conceptualized as stages of decision making linked to having disaster supplies and creating a family communication plan. Quantitative results showed a significant shift over time from awareness to action and maintenance stages for disaster communication plans and supplies in both study arms; however, the shift in stage for a communication plan for those in the 'platica' study arm was (P < 0.0001) than for those in the media arm. For changes in stage linked to disaster supplies, people in both media and 'platica' study arms improved at the same rate. Simple media-based communications may be sufficient to encourage disadvantaged households to obtain disaster supplies; however, adoption of the more complex disaster family communication requires interpersonal education.

Language: en