Disaster preparedness: a comparative study of North Carolina and Montana.
OBJECTIVE
The emergency preparedness of residents of North Carolina and Montana were compared.


METHODS
General preparedness was evaluated using responses to 4 questions related to a household's 3-day supply of water, 3-day supply of nonperishable food, a working battery-operated radio, and a working battery-operated flashlight. Each positive answer was awarded 1 point to create an emergency preparedness score that ranged from 0 (minimum) to 4 (maximum). Results were assessed statistically.


RESULTS
The average emergency preparedness score did not differ between the 2 states (P = .513). One factor influencing higher preparedness in both states was being male. Other influencing factors in North Carolina were older age, being a race/ethnicity other than white, having an annual income of $35 000 or more, having children in the household, better (excellent/very good/good) self-reported health, and not being disabled. In contrast, other factors influencing higher emergency preparedness in Montana were having a college degree and being married or partnered.


CONCLUSIONS
A divergence was found in factors influencing the likelihood of being prepared. These factors were likely a result of different sociodemographic and geographic characteristics between the 2 states.
Department of Community Health and Social Medicine, Sophie Davis School of Biomedical Education, The City College of New York, New York.|Institute of Epidemiology, Faculty of Medicine, University of Belgrade, Belgrade, Serbia.
Tatjana
T
Gazibara
Department of Biostatistics, Mailman School of Public Health and School of Nursing, Columbia University, New York, New York.
Haomiao
H
Jia
Department of Community Health and Social Medicine, Sophie Davis School of Biomedical Education, The City College of New York, New York.
Erica I
EI
Lubetkin
D002959:Civil Defense / Q000592:standards*; D004189:Disaster Planning; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D009009:Montana; D009657:North Carolina; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires