title: The impact of Hurricane Katrina upon older adult nurses: an assessment of quality of life and psychological distress in the aftermath.
abstract: The primary purpose of the current study was to evaluate the impact of Hurricane Katrina upon older nurses using cross sectional data from 291 respondents. Collected data served as the numerical predicate for the evaluation of quality of life and psychological distress among nurses who were affected by Hurricane Katrina. While the focus for the present study was upon older nurses, cross sectional data was reflected for the plenary sample as well. Predictors of Katrina's impact upon older nurses were identified through multinomial regression analyses and included the physical function subscale (OR=0.954), the fatigue subscale (OR=0.961), the arousal subscale (OR=4.190), average to poor health (OR=2.040), married (OR=2.769) and the MSPSS (OR = 0.780). Significant associations between age and storm impact (F=10.707, ñ=.001), depression (F=15.782, ñ< .001), social support (F=5.869, ñ=.016), health status (F=29.004, ñ<.001), anxiety (F=5.583, ñ=.019) and posttraumatic distress disorder (F .032, fñ= .46) remained after adjustment for other risk factors. These associations, as reflected in their respective mean scores, indicated that older nurses experienced greater storm impact (2.880 vs. 2.511), depressive symptoms (11.250 vs. 9.080), anxiety (77.800 vs. 75.430), posttraumatic distress (72.830 vs. 70.860) and lower health status (68.891 vs. 73.569). Accordingly, a more robust public policy paradigm for addressing the growing labor shortages in the medical community is needed. Heightened Congressional interest and increased resourcing is required in order to affect necessary programmatic, educational and institutional remediation. Furthermore, given the increasing role of older nurses in the work place, extensive studies are needed to evaluate their status and independent risk factors for sustaining quality of life and psychological well being among these contributors of health care.
authors.affiliation: School of Nursing, The University of Southern Mississippi, Hattiesburg, MS 39406-0001, USA. nadine.james@usm.edu
authors.forename: Nadine T
authors.initials: NT
authors.lastname: James
authors.forename: Carl W
authors.initials: CW
authors.lastname: Miller
authors.forename: Katherine
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Nugent
authors.forename: Cindy
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Welch
authors.forename: Miriam
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Cabanna
authors.forename: Sharon
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Vincent
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D000367:Age Factors; D000368:Aged; D003430:Cross-Sectional Studies; D055867:Cyclonic Storms; D004190:Disasters; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D008922:Mississippi; D009726:Nurses / Q000523:psychology*; D016017:Odds Ratio; D011788:Quality of Life / Q000523:psychology*; D013313:Stress Disorders, Post-Traumatic / Q000523:psychology*; D055815:Young Adult