Disparity in disaster preparedness between racial/ethnic groups

Figures & data

Table 1. Demographic characteristics of BRFSS survey respondents by race/ethnicity, 8 US states, 2006–2010 (n = 63,402)

Characteristic	Overall (n = 63,402) %	Non-Hispanic White (n = 46,519) %	Non-Hispanic Black (n = 8,695) %	English-Speaking Hispanic (n = 1,366) %	Spanish-Speaking Hispanic (n = 387) %	p*
Sex						< 0.001
Male	47.9	48.0	45.7	54.3	59.4
Female	52.1	52.0	54.3	45.7	40.6
Age (years)						< 0.001
18–64	83.5	81.3	88.3	91.6	99.3
≥ 65	16.5	18.7	11.7	8.4	0.7
Education						< 0.001
≤ High school	42.8	39.0	50.7	49.7	91.4
Some college	26.5	27.2	25.9	26.6	3.8
College graduate	30.7	33.8	23.4	23.7	4.8
Marital status						< 0.001
Married/Living as married	63.6	69.1	43.7	62.9	78.7
Not married	36.4	30.9	56.3	37.1	21.3
Household income						< 0.001
< $35,000	39.9	33.5	57.2	45.4	89.5
$35,000 - $74,999	32.5	34.3	28.2	32.6	10.2
≥ $75,000	27.6	32.2	14.6	22.0	0.3
Number in household						< 0.001
1–2	54.6	58.0	47.4	41.0	33.9
3–4	34.6	33.1	38.6	40.4	37.2
> 4	10.8	8.9	14.0	18.6	28.9
Healthcare plan						< 0.001
No	17.1	13.5	23.0	27.0	26.3
Yes	82.9	86.5	77.0	73.0	73.7
Perceived Health Status						< 0.001
Excellent	19.6	20.9	15.2	23.6	8.6
Very good	32.1	34.0	27.3	29.9	12.9
Good	30.4	28.9	34.6	31.0	43.7
Fair/Poor	17.9	16.2	22.9	15.5	34.8

* Chi-square test (weighted)

Table 2. General preparedness among BRFSS survey respondents by race/ethnicity, 8 US. States, 2006–2010 (n = 63,402)

		Race/Ethnicity
Item	Overall (63,426)	White (n = 52,832)	Black (n = 8,708)	English-Speaking Hispanic (n = 1,467)	Spanish-Speaking Hispanic (n = 395)	p*
All 4 preparedness items; %	42.1	42.5	41.4	40.0	37.1	0.359
3 d supply of water; %	55.4	53.6	60.1	57.2	70.7	< 0.001
3 d supply of food; %	84.3	86.2	80.1	78.0	66.2	< 0.001
Battery-operated radio; %	77.8	80.1	72.6	70.3	57.9	< 0.001
Flashlight with batteries; %	94.8	97.1	89.2	91.3	74.0	< 0.001
Evacuation plan; %	24.6	23.8	27.0	27.8	21.9	0.003
3 d supply of medication**;%	89.0	91.5	84.0	81.0	50.0	< 0.001

* Chi-square test (weighted); **Only for households in which a member was taking prescribed medication

Table 3. Multivariate logistic regression results for general preparedness among BRFSS survey respondents, 8 US states, 2006–2010 (n = 63,402)

Characteristic	4 Preparedness Items*		Emergency Evacuation Plan		3-d Supply of Medication†
	OR	95% CI	OR	95% CI	OR	95% CI
Sex
Male	1.00	—	1.00	—	1.00	—
Female	0.67	0.62, 0.72	0.94	0.87, 1.02	0.87	0.76, 0.99
Age (years)
18–64	1.00	—	1.00	—	1.00	—
≥ 65	1.30	1.20, 1.40	1.22	1.11, 1.33	3.11	2.60, 3.72
Education
≤ High School	1.00	—	1.00	—	1.00	—
Some college	0.95	0.87, 1.04	0.93	0.84, 1.03	1.25	1.06, 1.47
College graduate	0.79	0.72, 0.87	0.77	0.69, 0.85	1.25	1.05, 1.50
Marital status
Married/Living as Married	1.00	—	1.00	—	1.00	—
Not Married	1.01	0.93, 1.09	0.96	0.88, 1.06	0.88	0.75, 1.03
Household income
< $35,000	1.00	—	1.00	—	1.00	—
$35,000 - $74,999	1.10	1.00, 1.21	0.86	0.78, 0.96	1.57	1.32, 1.87
≥ $75,000	1.22	1.08, 1.37	0.73	0.64, 0.84	2.48	1.96, 3.14
Number in household
1 – 2	1.00	—	1.00	—	1.00	—
3 – 4	0.89	0.82, 0.97	1.11	1.02, 1.22	0.75	0.65, 0.87
> 4	0.91	0.78, 1.06	1.54	1.32, 1.81	0.71	0.56, 0.90
Health care plan
No	1.00	—	1.00	—	1.00	—
Yes	1.09	0.98, 1.22	0.98	0.86, 1.11	1.56	1.32, 1.84
General Health
Excellent	1.00	—	1.00	—	1.00	—
Very Good	0.88	0.79, 0.97	0.82	0.73, 0.92	1.28	1.05, 1.57
Good	0.83	0.75, 0.93	0.90	0.80, 1.01	1.32	1.08, 1.61
Fair/Poor	0.79	0.70, 0.90	0.87	0.76, 1.00	1.46	1.17, 1.82
Race/Ethnicity
White	1.00	—	1.00	—	1.00	—
Black	1.02	0.92, 1.14	1.13	1.01, 1.27	0.66	0.56, 0.79
English-speaking Hispanic	1.07	0.85, 1.34	1.35	1.07, 1.69	0.48	0.34, 0.69
Spanish-speaking Hispanic	0.92	0.63, 1.35	0.67	0.47, 0.97	0.20	0.13, 0.29

* Includes 3 d supply of food, 3 d supply of water, radio with batteries, and flashlight with batteries; **Chi-square test (weighted); † only among respondents with household members who require medication