Citation

Subaiya S, Stillman J, Pumpalova Y. Disasters 2019; 43(1): 206-217.

Affiliation

BS Medical Student, Weill Cornell Medical College, United States.

Copyright

(Copyright © 2019, John Wiley and Sons)

DOI

10.1111/disa.12299

PMID

30488477

Abstract

This study sought to assess access to utilities, basic needs, financial burden, and perceived safety among households in the Rockaway Peninsula of New York City, United States, four months after Hurricane Sandy struck in 2012. A modified cluster survey design was used to select households for inclusion in the study. Survey content was created using the Community Assessment for Public Health Emergency Response (CASPER) toolkit, gathering relevant data on access to food and water, basic utilities, financial burden, household demographics, and safety. Four months after Sandy, electricity and heat had been restored to all households. However, around one-third of them still had difficulty in obtaining food, and about one-half believed that their neighborhood was unsafe. One-quarter had problems in acquiring prescription medications, and approximately one-half reported anxiety. While basic utilities were almost entirely restored, there were ongoing challenges in Rockaway four months after Sandy, relating to financial hardship, food insecurity, healthcare, and psychologic distress.

© 2018 The Author(s). Disasters © Overseas Development Institute, 2018.

Language: en

Keywords

Community Assessment for Public Health Emergency Response (CASPER); Hurricane Sandy; rapid needs assessment