Rural Americans less likely to have disaster plans or worry about future natural disasters, study finds

When droughts, hurricanes and other natural disasters hit, people in rural areas typically face more serious health consequences than their urban counterparts. Geographic isolation, an older and sicker population and a lack of health care providers and facilities make their road to recovery more difficult.

Now, a study by health policy experts from the USA Center for Rural Public Health Preparedness at Texas A&M University reveals that while rural and urban Americans agree that disaster preparedness is important, those in rural areas are less likely to have a plan or worry that disasters could become more frequent or severe.

The study is one of the few to shed light on how individuals in rural and urban areas prepare for disasters and how living in a rural area affects attitudes and behaviors about preparedness.

“This is important because most rural research focuses on community preparedness and resilience, even though organizations such as FEMA and the CDC emphasize that individuals should have evacuation plans, stockpiles of supplies and other measures in place,” said Matthew Boyce, PhD, who led the project.

For their study, supported by a Seedling Research Grant from the Texas A&M University Health Science Center (Texas A&M Health) and published in Disaster Medicine and Public Health Preparedness, the team surveyed 1,680 individuals, almost evenly split between rural and urban.

The survey was administered in both English and Spanish. Respondents were asked whether they had an evacuation plan, emergency kit and supplies and knew where to get emergency information, as well as how concerned they were about natural disasters becoming more frequent and severe.

Rural respondents most often identified as women, ages 18 to 34, white, earning less than $25,000 annually, politically independent, from the South, living in areas prone to climate-induced disasters, and having previous experience with disasters. Urban dwellers differed by more frequently identifying as men and Democrat.

“We found that while both groups largely agree about emergency preparedness, most rural residents were less likely to have disaster plans and less concerned about the future severity and frequency of natural disasters,” Boyce said.

The exception was middle-income rural residents, who were more likely to have an evacuation plan than their city counterparts. For city dwellers, the likelihood of having a plan dropped for the middle-income group before rising again for wealthier residents.

Boyce said this could be because rural areas generally have fewer public services to help after a disaster, coupled with a strong belief in self-reliance and individualism.

“In addition, the costs of assembling preparedness kits are not negligible, and middle-income people in rural areas might not have enough money to stock up on emergency supplies, making their evacuation plan more important,” he said.

The study also found that a person’s age and income could play a role. For example, rural individuals between 35 and 44 years old, and those earning between $75,000 and $99,999 a year, were less likely to be concerned about how severe future disasters might be, compared to people in cities.

Political beliefs and education levels may help explain why some rural residents are less concerned about disasters becoming more frequent and severe.

“Our work affirmed results from other studies in that Republicans and Independents were significantly less likely to express concern about the severity of future climate-induced disasters,” Boyce said. “Similarly, other research shows that lower levels of education are typically linked to a lower perception of risk from climate-induced disasters, which is what we found, as well.”

This information could help public health departments and emergency managers improve disaster preparedness in rural communities to prevent worsening of the disaster-related health gap that exists in rural and urban areas.

For example, rural areas have fewer media outlets, so the researchers recommend that officials work with local opinion leaders and decision makers to ensure that preparedness messages reach as many people as possible.

These messages should focus on education and awareness, reflect rural values and provide clear instructions so people know exactly what to do to prepare, the researchers said. In addition, they said the messages should be repeated through various channels to reinforce their importance.

“Culture shapes how we prepare for and respond to natural disasters and should be an important consideration as we seek equity in disaster preparedness and public health, more broadly,” Boyce said.

Others involved in the study were Christine Crudo Blackburn, PhD, Jason Moats, PhD, and Mayra Rico, MPh.