1. A modified Community Assessment for Public Health Emergency Response (CASPER) four months after Hurricane Sandy
- Author
-
Yoanna Pumpalova, Joshua Stillman, and Saleena Subaiya
- Subjects
Adult ,Male ,medicine.medical_specialty ,Time Factors ,010504 meteorology & atmospheric sciences ,0211 other engineering and technologies ,02 engineering and technology ,Disease cluster ,01 natural sciences ,Disasters ,Young Adult ,Environmental health ,Surveys and Questionnaires ,Health care ,medicine ,Humans ,Medical prescription ,0105 earth and related environmental sciences ,Aged ,Aged, 80 and over ,021110 strategic, defence & security studies ,Food security ,business.industry ,Cyclonic Storms ,Public health ,General Social Sciences ,Middle Aged ,Geography ,Needs assessment ,Public Health Practice ,General Earth and Planetary Sciences ,Female ,New York City ,Basic needs ,business ,Inclusion (education) ,Needs Assessment - Abstract
This study sought to assess access to utilities, basic needs, financial burden, and perceived safety among households in the Rockaway Peninsula of New York City, United States, four months after Hurricane Sandy struck in 2012. A modified cluster survey design was used to select households for inclusion in the study. Survey content was created using the Community Assessment for Public Health Emergency Response (CASPER) toolkit, gathering relevant data on access to food and water, basic utilities, financial burden, household demographics, and safety. Four months after Sandy, electricity and heat had been restored to all households. However, around one-third of them still had difficulty in obtaining food, and about one-half believed that their neighborhood was unsafe. One-quarter had problems in acquiring prescription medications, and approximately one-half reported anxiety. While basic utilities were almost entirely restored, there were ongoing challenges in Rockaway four months after Sandy, relating to financial hardship, food insecurity, healthcare, and psychologic distress.
- Published
- 2018