Post on 20-Jan-2016
The Impact of Natural Disaster on the Social
Supports of Individuals with Disabilities
Laura Stough, Ph.D.
Amy Sharp, Ph.D.
Elizabeth McAdams Ducy, M.Ed.
Judith Holt, Ph.D.
Jeff Sheen, MSW
Hurricane Katrina
It is estimated that 23.2 percent of the population of New Orleans had a disability.(National Council on Disability, 2005)
(AP Photo/Eric Gay)
Long-Term Recovery of Individuals with Disabilities
Dr. Laura StoughDr. Amy Sharp Richard Petty,
M.B.A.
Dr. Judith HoltJeff Sheen, MSW
Design of the StudyDesign of the Study
I. Face-to-face in-depth interviews with 39 individuals with disabilities
II. Telephone surveys with 59 individuals with disabilities
III. Two focus groups: Texas and Louisiana
Interview ParticipantsInterview ParticipantsTexas Louisiana Total
Intellectual Disabilities
11 12 23
Diabetes 5 3 8
Other Disabilities 1 7 8
Total 17 22 39
Interview Participants
African American,
77%
Caucasian,10%
Unknown, 10%
Asian , 3%Ethnicity
Grounded Theory AnalysisGrounded Theory Analysis Social Supports Housing Employment Transportation Access to Recovery
Services Recreation Spiritual Activities Medical Well-Being
Photo: Eric Gay/AP
The Category of Focus:Social Supports
The most prominent category Closely tied to other categories Participants referred to the category
spontaneously Emotional/longing/compelling tone
Properties of Social Supports
1. Proximity to supports
2. Frequency of interactions
3. Cohesion of family
4. Intimacy with neighbors
5. Diversity of people
6. Formality of supports
Proximity Before:
Close proximitySame house or neighborhood
After:Proximity significantly distancedSeparation affected the participants regardless of actual distance
Proximity“ It’s [life] boring. Besides my Auntie, I
had a friend that I loved. I left them
because it’s too far away. People
won’t come way down here to get
you. They considered this a long ways
from Baton Rouge and a long ways
from New Orleans.” Wanda
Frequency of Interaction Before
High interaction Often Daily interaction
After Infrequent interaction No contact at all
Frequency of Interaction
“So it has been rough trying to get back we have been back one time but we was enjoying life was sweet like my kids tell it they really miss their friends people that we have not seen in a long time.” Kate
Cohesion of Family Before
Cohesive Gathered
After Scattered Cohesiveness unraveled
Cohesion of Family
“Like I said I still can’t reach out and touch my sisters, none of them. Things are just bad. Seeing them everyday. Now everybody just spread all over. My other sister she in where she at lets see if I can think of the name somewhere her and her daughters, my nieces where they at man I can’t even think of the name.” Mark
Intimacy with Neighbors Before
High Contact Neighborhood belongingNeighbors were friends
AfterLow to no contact“Checking in” Fellow survivors
Intimacy with NeighborsInterviewer- “Do you know people in the
neighborhood?”
Immanuel- “No, I might greet them hello, goodbye, maybe my neighbor downstairs. But I mean I don’t congregate with anyone in particular around here.”
Diversity of People Before
Included a diverse range of individuals Influenced amount of activities
After Social supports less diverse
Lowered frequency of activities
Diversity of People
”I don’t have no friends. The only friends I have right now is my wife.” Mike
“I don’t know nobody here.” Efron
Formality of Supports Before
Informal Anticipated needs
After Formal Difficult to ask for help
Formality of Supports “She (sister) took care of me. She took
care of me get my medicine and fix my food. My sister cause she got a car and stuff……My sister she go she would take me shopping well the days I was feeling good we go shopping.” Ethel
Summary Social supports were important to these
participants both before and after the storm
All of the participants lost close and loved supports as a result of the disaster
The configuration of these supports changed significantly after the storm.
Project REDD website: http://redd.tamu.edu