TY - JOUR PY - 2019// TI - Older adults and social support in a disaster context: did relocation matter for access to social network resources after the 2015 South Carolina flood? JO - Disaster medicine and public health preparedness A1 - Botchway, Marian A1 - Teixeira, Ana A1 - Moore, Spencer SP - ePub EP - ePub VL - ePub IS - ePub N2 - OBJECTIVES: The aim of this study was to examine social network characteristics and social support (emotional and instrumental support) and to determine how those factors differed between relocating older adults and nonrelocating older adults who were affected by the 2015 flood in South Carolina.

METHODS: Twenty-five community-dwelling elderly (CDE) were interviewed between December 2015 and May 2016 to learn about their experiences in the immediate aftermath of the flood. Ego-centric network data were collected with a focus on social network members and the types of flood-related support that these network members provided.

RESULTS: Ten of 25 CDE relocated because of the flood. All CDE were more likely to receive social support from female network members and family members than from other acquaintances. Relocating CDE received significantly less emotional support in comparison to nonrelocating CDE. The odds of receiving instrumental support were higher, but nonsignificant, among relocating CDE in comparison to nonrelocating CDE.

CONCLUSIONS: The findings around the support provision are concerning particularly because of the additional psychological burden that relocation can place on flood-affected, older adults. Recommendations for public health preparedness strategies are provided in addition to future research directions for examining the well-being of flood-affected, older adults.

Language: en

LA - en SN - 1935-7893 UR - http://dx.doi.org/10.1017/dmp.2019.120 ID - ref1 ER -