Preparedness, Hurricanes Irma and Maria, and Impact on Health in Puerto Rico.

ABSTRACT:

Objectives

Only few studies evaluated whether hurricane preparedness impacts health. The PREPARE study addresses this gap.

Methods

We recruited participants who had pertinent pre-hurricane data from the San Juan Overweight Adults Longitudinal Study (SOALS: n=364) and 125 patients with diabetes from Federally Qualified Health Center (COSSMA) in Puerto Rico. Participants aged 42-75 years completed interviews 20-34 months after Hurricanes Irma and Maria. We evaluated associations between self-reported hurricane preparedness and health and other related associations using logistic regression controlling for age, location, education and interview date.

Results

Only 41% of participants reported high pre-hurricane preparedness; 25% reported gaps (moderate/low availability) i

SUBMITTER: Joshipura KJ 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC8754401 | biostudies-literature | 2022 Jan

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature