@article{ref1,
title="Identification of disaster-vulnerable communities by use of census data prior to the Great East Japan Earthquake",
journal="Disaster medicine and public health preparedness",
year="2015",
author="Ishiguro, Aya and Togita, Yuriko and Inoue, Mariko and Ohkubo, Takayoshi and Yano, Eiji",
volume="9",
number="1",
pages="19-28",
abstract="OBJECTIVES: The role of the community is becoming increasingly recognized as a crucial determinant of human health, particularly during a disaster and during disaster recovery. To identify disaster-vulnerable communities, we sought factors related to communities in need of support by using census information from before the Great East Japan Earthquake. <br><br>METHODS: We identified vulnerable communities by using a needs-assessment survey conducted 6 to 12 months after the Great East Japan Earthquake in Ishinomaki City, Miyagi Prefecture, as indicated by higher proportions of households with at least 1 of 3 major support needs (medical, elderly, psychological, and dwelling environment). The associations between the need for support and 9 demographic characteristics of the community from census data prior to the Great East Japan Earthquake were examined for 71 communities by use of logistic regression analysis. <br><br>RESULTS: The need for elderly support was positively associated with the proportions of aged people (odds ratio [OR]=1.5; 95% confidence interval [CI]: 1.2-1.8) and one-person households (OR=1.3; 95% CI: 1.0-1.7), whereas the need for psychological support was associated with the proportion of people engaged in agriculture (OR=4.6; 95% CI: 1.0-20.7). The proportion of fisheries was negatively associated with the need for dwelling environment support (OR=0.5; 95% CI: 0.3-0.9). <br><br>CONCLUSIONS: The consideration of simple demographic characteristics from the census may be useful for identifying vulnerable communities and preparing for future disasters. (Disaster Med Public Health Preparedness. 2015;9:19-28).<p /> <p>Language: en</p>",
language="en",
issn="1935-7893",
doi="10.1017/dmp.2014.164",
url="http://dx.doi.org/10.1017/dmp.2014.164"
}