Building resiliency: a cross-sectional study examining relationships among health-related quality of life, well-being, and disaster preparedness

Abstract

BackgroundWorldwide, disaster exposure and consequences are rising. Disaster risk in New Zealand is amplified by island geography, isolation, and ubiquitous natural hazards. Wellington, the capital city, has vital needs for evacuation preparedness and resilience to the devastating impacts and increasing uncertainties of earthquake and tsunami disasters. While poor quality of life (QoL) is widely-associated with low levels of engagement in many health-protective behaviors, the relationships among health-related quality of life (HrQoL), well-being, and preparedness are virtually unknown.MethodsWe hypothesized that QoL and well-being affect household evacuation preparedness. We performed a quantitative epidemiologic survey (cross-sectional design) of Wellington adults. Our investigation assessed health-promoting attributes that build resiliency, conceptualized as health-protective attitudes and behaviors. Multidimensional QoL variables were measured using validated psychometric scales and analyzed for associations with evacuation preparedness, and we determined whether age and gender affected these relationships.ResultsWe received 695 survey responses (28.5% response rate; margin of error ±3.8%; 80% statistical power to detect true correlations of 0.11 or greater). Correlational analyses showed statistically significant positive associations with evacuation preparedness for spiritual well-being, emotional well-being, and life satisfaction. No associations were found for mental health, social well-being, or gender; physical health was weakly negatively associated. Evacuation preparedness increased with age. Regression analyses showed that overall health and well-being explained 4.6-6.8% of the variance in evacuation preparedness. Spiritual well-being was the only QoL variable that significantly and uniquely explained variance in preparedness.ConclusionsHow well-being influences preparedness is complex and deeply personal. The data indicate that multidimensional readiness is essential, and meaningfulness is an important factor. Inadequate levels of tangible preparedness actions are accompanied by gaps in intangible readiness aspects, such as: 1) errors in perceived exposure to and salience of natural hazards, yielding circumscribed risk assessments; 2) unfamiliarity with the scope and span of preparedness; 3) underestimating disaster consequences; and 4) misinterpreting the personal resources required for self-managing disaster and uncertainty. Our results highlight that conceptualizing preparedness to include attitudes and behaviors of readiness, integrating well-being and meaningfulness into preparedness strategies, and prioritizing evacuation planning are critical for resiliency as a dynamic process and outcome.

Mainstream disaster health as a policy priority: experiences from Chennai floods and a cross sectional study during disaster relief phase

“…A cross sectional study done in New Zealand by Gowan M et al, said that it is important to orient people to take their Government documents while leaving their houses during floods so that the recovery and rehabilitation process becomes easier and faster. 7 The mere fact that 303 people lost their Government documents during the Chennai floods points to the fact that India needs to improve its disaster literacy efforts in a very big way. 373 (93.3%) said that public drainage water entered their houses and got mixed with the clean water.…”

A review of themes in disaster resilience literature and international practice since 2012

“…Therefore, providing mental health support to improve community coping capacity becomes an important recovery strategy. The literature also emphasizes that the underlying physical health of the population is important when considering health resilience as this determines vulnerability and capacity to cope in the face of disasters, which includes understanding the prevalence and distribution of chronic disease and the ability of the population to access timely and appropriate preventive health services (Chandra et al 2013;Dar et al 2014;Gowan, Kirk, and Sloan 2014;Plough et al 2013;Wulff, Donato, and Lurie 2015). For example, communities with more chronic diseases, elderly or those exposed to epidemics are more vulnerable (Tierney 2012a).…”

Vulnerability and capacities of international students in the face of disasters in Auckland, New Zealand: A qualitative descriptive study

“…Short-term migrants vulnerability may include low socioeconomic status (Braveman et al, 2011;Gares & Montz, 2014;Montz et al, 2011), language barriers (Gares & Montz, 2014;Montz et al, 2011;Nepal et al, 2012;Rashid & Gregory, 2014), reduced horizontal social support, with minimal involvement in local social groups (Aldrich & Meyer, 2014;Morrow, 1999;Rashid & Gregory, 2014), and lack of knowledge about how the host nation's bureaucracy functions (Aldrich & Meyer, 2014;Morrow, 1999;Murphy, 2007;Nepal et al, 2012). However, migrant's capacities, like their vulnerability, can also be understood through similar proxies, such as having a strong social support network (Aldrich & Meyer, 2014), prior disaster experience (Gowan, Kirk, & Sloan, 2014) or an ability to be proactive in adverse circumstances (Aldrich & Meyer, 2014;Murphy, 2007). Migrants display capacities resulting from their social, historical, and cultural backgrounds combined with their ability to cope and adjust to a new environment (Marlowe, 2015).…”