Emergency Preparedness: Knowledge and Perceptions of Latin American Immigrants

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Abstract

Low-income Latinos are often at particular risk following a disaster since they lack access to financial and material resources to recover their losses and cushion the impact of the disaster. Studies of earthquakes in California suggest that poor Latinos, undocumented immigrants, and monolingual ethnic groups are among the groups that encounter the most problems in acquiring resources and recovering. Low-wage Latinos with fragile homes and livelihoods had limited access to post-disaster resources following Hurricane Andrew. This chapter describes the level of public emergency knowledge and perceptions of risks among a group of Latin American immigrants, and their preferred and actual sources of emergency preparedness information (including warning signals). (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2019 APA, all rights reserved) (Source: chapter)

Citation

Relevant Evidence Summaries

The evidence was reviewed and included in the following summaries: 

What are the best strategies for emergency preparedness and emergency information dissemination among resettled refugees?

The evidence in this area is suggestive. Within these suggestive studies, there is broad consensus on four key points related to emergency preparedness and emergency information dissemination among resettled refugees: Pre-existing partnerships among refugee communities, community-based organizations (CBOs), and local emergency planners are vital. People who serve as social bridges between refugee communities and governmental…

About this study

AGE: Adults

DIRECTION OF EVIDENCE: No evidence about impact

FULL TEXT AVAILABILITY: Free

HOST COUNTRY: United States

HOST COUNTRY INCOME: High Income

INTERVENTION: None Tested

OUTCOME AREA: Emergency Preparedness

REGION OF ORIGIN OF PARTICIPANT(S): Central America

REGION OF ORIGIN OF PARTICIPANT(S): North America

REGION OF ORIGIN OF PARTICIPANT(S): South America

STRENGTH OF EVIDENCE: Suggestive

TYPE OF STUDY: Suggestive evidence

YEAR PUBLISHED: 2007

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