Using an Education Intervention to Increase Preparedness Among Pet Owners: Results of a Pilot Study.

Objectives: Households with pets are considered a high-risk population, presenting many challenges to response and recovery efforts. Research indicates that households with pets are less likely to evacuate during disasters, and pets left behind pose a health risk to relief workers and the general public. This pilot study explores a brief education intervention targeting households with pets as a method of increasing general household preparedness, with the purpose of facilitating evacuation and protective behaviors in this population.

Disaster preparedness and families of children with special needs: a geographic comparison.

Over eleven million children in the United States have special health care needs. These unique needs can burden community and emergency responders after a disaster, complicating rescue and recovery efforts and generating reunification needs. Family disaster preparedness can help to moderate the extent that community resources are utilized by preparing families to be self-sustaining after a disaster and streamline access to medical care when needed.