Using Extended Parallel Process Model to guide the development of a tool to assist community-dwelling older adults in rural areas prepare for disasters

Since 2010, 565 disaster declarations have been made in the U.S. costing the federal government approximately $85 billion annually.  Older adults in rural areas are vulnerable to injury, death and health complications due to medical needs, little knowledge about preparedness, and limited community support due to reduced resources and geographic dispersion.  Publically available disaster planning information for older adults tends to provide a list of preparedness steps, with little step-by-step, theory driven guidance on how to develop individualized disaster plans. 

        Well-validated theories can bring tremendous advantages to the development of interventions and enhance effectiveness.  The Extended Parallel Process Model (EPPM) identifies factors that influence how individuals respond to a message about potential threats, like a disaster.  In order to enhance preparedness among older adults, EPPM suggests that a message needs to strengthen their sense of susceptibility to disasters and their sense of efficacy; that they can follow the recommendations and following them will improve health outcomes of the disaster.   

       This presentation will introduce a disaster preparedness program and tool for community-dwelling older adults, modeled after a previously validated program for the general population.  EPPM concepts were used in formative research to understand the determinants of disaster preparedness behaviors among older adults in rural Iowa.  The materials reflect these concepts and were refined based on information obtained from community-dwelling older adults and aging network service providers through individual and focus group interviews.  Examples of how theory and formative research were used to develop and pilot test this intervention will be discussed.