Teaching emergency preparedness to restricted-budget families.
OBJECTIVE
To fulfill the health teaching and promotion responsibilities of public health nurses, a teaching intervention was devised to prepare low-income, low-resource families to survive a worst-case disaster scenario. The purpose of this study is to introduce that plan.


METHODS
Teaching sessions were held to increase awareness about disaster preparedness and to provide the resources necessary for preparing disaster kits on a restricted budget.


METHODS
This project focused on families enrolled at the Children's Relief Nursery in Portland, Oregon's St. Johns District.


METHODS
Posttest assessments and client follow-up at 3, 6, and 12 months were used to assess the effectiveness of the curriculum and follow-through on kit preparation.


RESULTS
A replicable teaching tool was successfully developed, and the interest and commitment of community partners dedicated to assisting restricted-budget families was secured.


CONCLUSIONS
States' disaster plans hinge on individuals' implementation of their own survival plans, and it is vital that these individuals be made aware of their responsibility. It is truly a matter of life and death that families possess the skills, knowledge, and resources to carry out a disaster survival plan successfully, and it is the ethical responsibility of the public health nurse to intervene.
Mack
Shannon E
SE
The University of Portland School of Nursing, Portland, Oregon, USA. shannon_e_mack@hotmail.com
Spotts
Daniel
D
Hayes
Atraya
A
Warner
Joanne Rains
JR
D004189:Disaster Planning; D006266:Health Education / Q000379:methods*; D006801:Humans; D009922:Oregon; D011203:Poverty; D011637:Public Health Nursing; D013663:Teaching / Q000379:methods*; D013664:Teaching Materials