The Association Between Trust In Government And/Or Non-Governmental Organizations And Percieved Individual Disaster Preparedness Among Low-Income Latinos In Two Neighborhoods In Baltimore City, Md
No Thumbnail Available
Links to Files
Permanent Link
Collections
Author/Creator
Author/Creator ORCID
Date
2014
Type of Work
Department
Public Health and Policy
Program
Doctor of Public Health
Citation of Original Publication
Rights
This item is made available by Morgan State University for personal, educational, and research purposes in accordance with Title 17 of the U.S. Copyright Law. Other uses may require permission from the copyright owner.
Abstract
Since the unfortunate events of September 11th, 2001 and the aftermath of hurricanes Katrina, Rita and Wilma in the gulf coast states in 2005, many researchers have been conducting studies on understanding the disproportionate level of individual level of preparedness of vulnerable populations across the U.S. Many vulnerable populations experience differences in how they prepare for, respond to and recover from a disaster mainly because of low income and very limited access to other resources needed to lessen the impact of the event. To compound these limitations, very little scientific knowledge is available to address the differences in individual disaster preparedness behavior within racial or ethnic groups. This study addresses an identified gap in understanding individual level of preparedness among 308 low-income Latino adults in two neighborhoods in Baltimore, Maryland. More specifically, this study will examine the association between the construct of trust and perceived individual level of preparedness among the study population. This study will apply secondary analytical methods to a data set collected in the summer of 2007 in Baltimore, Maryland. The data collected was based on a survey instrument developed using a 4-item validated public health trust scale and tested in previous research studies. This survey tool was modified and translated into and conducted in Spanish in two neighborhoods where a high number of Latino individuals reside. A statistical significance and positive linear association exists between how the Latino population in this study trusts the government (GOV) and non-governmental agencies (NGOs) in Baltimore, Maryland and the effect it has on predicting individual level of preparedness. The study also revealed that immigration status has no mediating impact on trust in GOV and NGOs predicting individual level of preparedness among the population sample. The study findings provide policy recommendations to local, state, federal and community organizations based on the level of individual preparedness of the study population. In addition, these recommendations will enhance the planning, response and recovery activities required during a man-made or natural disaster. Lastly, the results from this study may be used to develop educational preparedness programs and/or to design appropriate interventions for the study population.