Recent research indicates that social and behavioral factors play an important role with respect to disaster response, impacting both morbidity and mortality. Yet, our knowledge of the role these factors play in disaster preparedness, which is known to reduce vulnerability and increase resiliency, is extremely limited.

Within the community, elderly adults dependent upon home care assistance may be especially at risk for adverse impacts associated with disaster events. However, the preparedness planning, and the factors that affect planning for this population, are largely unknown.

This section highlights some of the work our researchers and other researchers in the field are conducting.