title: Personal disaster preparedness of dialysis patients in North Carolina.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  Dialysis patients are among the most vulnerable patients during a disaster because they are sensitive to a lapse in treatment. Although thorough preparation could mitigate disaster effects, we hypothesized that dialysis patients' personal and medical disaster preparedness was inadequate.
  
  
  METHODS
  This prevalence study surveyed mentally competent adults requiring care at six regional dialysis centers. We asked questions regarding demographics, general disaster preparedness utilizing Homeland Security recommended item lists, dialysis-specific preparation for an individual to shelter in place, and preparatory steps for a forced evacuation. To determine if preparedness differed by demographic variables (gender, race, age, and education) chi-squared tests were used.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Four hundred forty-two patients were approached, and 311 (70%) completed the survey. Participants were 54% male, 60% black, average age was 58 (± 15) years, and although 79% completed high school, 50% of our sample had marginal or low health literacy. Although all units had a disaster preparedness program in place, the general disaster preparedness of most participants was poor. Age, gender, race, education, literacy, and socioeconomic status did not affect general disaster preparedness. However, home peritoneal dialysis patients were significantly more likely to be prepared for a disaster compared with hemodialysis patients. No other significant associations were noted.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Irrespective of sociodemographic characteristics, most subjects were unprepared for a disaster. Dialysis patients were poorly prepared to shelter in place or to evacuate in the face of a disaster. Education regarding personal and dialysis-specific disaster preparedness is warranted.
authors.affiliation: School of Medicine, University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill, North Carolina, USA.
authors.forename: Mark
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Foster
authors.forename: Jane H
authors.initials: JH
authors.lastname: Brice
authors.forename: Frances
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Shofer
authors.forename: Stephanie
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Principe
authors.forename: Darren
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Dewalt
authors.forename: Ronald
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Falk
authors.forename: Maria
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Ferris
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D000554:Ambulatory Care Facilities / Q000458:organization & administration*; D016009:Chi-Square Distribution; D003430:Cross-Sectional Studies; D004189:Disaster Planning / Q000458:organization & administration*; D004190:Disasters; D005260:Female; D019538:Health Care Surveys; D007722:Health Knowledge, Attitudes, Practice; D057220:Health Literacy; D006297:Health Services Accessibility / Q000458:organization & administration*; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D009657:North Carolina; D006435:Renal Dialysis; D012959:Socioeconomic Factors; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires; D035862:Vulnerable Populations