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Examining the role of ageing-in-place organisations in building older adults’ disaster resilience

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  04 June 2020

Claire Pendergrast Open the ORCID record for Claire Pendergrast [Opens in a new window] ,
Basia Belza ,
Ann Bostrom  and
Nicole Errett
Claire Pendergrast*
Affiliation:
School of Public Health, University of Washington, Seattle, Washington, USA
Basia Belza
Affiliation:
School of Nursing, University of Washington, Seattle, Washington, USA
Ann Bostrom
Affiliation:
School of Public Policy, University of Washington, Seattle, Washington, USA
Nicole Errett
Affiliation:
School of Public Health, University of Washington, Seattle, Washington, USA
*
*Corresponding author. Email: cpenderg@syr.edu
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Abstract

Older adults are more susceptible to adverse health outcomes during and after a disaster compared with their younger counterparts. Ageing-in-place organisations such as senior centres and Villages provide social services and programming for older adults and may support older adults’ resilience to disasters. This study examines the role of ageing-in-place organisations in building disaster resilience for older adults. Semi-structured interviews were conducted with a purposive sample of 14 ageing-in-place organisation leaders in King County, Washington in the United States of America. The sample included representatives of five government-run senior centres, seven non-profit senior centres and two Villages. Interviews were audio-recorded and professionally transcribed. We used a combined inductive and deductive approach to code and thematically analyse the data. Ageing-in-place organisation leadership recognise disasters as a threat to older adults’ health and safety, and they see opportunities to provide disaster-related support for older adults, though the type and extent of participation in resilience-building activities reflected each organisation's unique local context. Organisations participate in a variety of disaster-related activities, though respondents emphasised the importance of collaborative and communication-focused efforts. Findings suggest that ageing-in-place organisations may be best equipped to support older adults’ disaster resilience by serving as a trusted source of disaster-related information and providing input on the appropriateness of disaster plans and messages for the unique needs of older adults ageing-in-place.

Keywords

emergency preparednesscommunity-based organisationqualitative methodssocial services
Type
Article
Information
Ageing & Society , Volume 41 , Issue 12 , December 2021 , pp. 2888 - 2913
Copyright
Copyright © The Author(s), 2020. Published by Cambridge University Press

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