WORLD JOURNAL OF ADVANCE
HEALTHCARE RESEARCH

*Dr. Mercy Joseph, PhD, ANP-BC, RN

ABSTRACT

Natural disasters are often unexpected and can cause disruption, trauma, loss, and devastation of communities. Community-dwelling older adults have special needs after a natural disaster and may rely on their own communities for support. A review of the literature identified that local faith-based leaders have a major role in the recovery process before, during, and after a natural disaster. The present study is purported to explore how faith-based leaders cared for community-dwelling older adults in a situation caused by natural disaster. This research is focused on Hurricane Sandy and is done in Long Island, New York, which was affected by Hurricane Sandy (2012), which affected 21 states in USA, from northern Indiana to northern Maine in October of 2012. Apart from fatalities, there were economic losses amounting to $78 billion to $97 billion in the US. The central concern of this study is focused on the question: How do faith-based leaders care for community-dwelling older adults affected by a natural disaster like hurricane Sandy? This is a qualitative study, utilized the Grounded theoretical approach of Strauss and Corbin (1998). Participants were male or female faith based leaders (ordained leaders of religious congregation) who were involved in caring for community dwelling older adults in Long Island, New York, including the counties of Queens, Nassau, and Suffolk. Total 16 faith based leaders were interviewed. They included Priests (Catholic), Rabbis (Jewish), Imams (Muslim) and other Christian leaders). Participants were selected through snowball strategy that evolved into theoretical sampling. This study identified that the faith based leaders in a community play a major role in the disaster management process especially for the community dwelling older adults. Involving faith based leaders in disaster management and disaster funding to faith based institutions may help for better disaster management in future.

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