ABSTRACT
Emergency planning for vulnerable populations constitutes a major element of community disaster preparedness and is an area where guidance has historically been sparse (Brodie et al. 2006; Kayman and Ablorh-Odjidja 2006). Citing this lack of information, the Institute of Medicine emphasized the need to conduct multidisciplinary research to protect vulnerable populations in a 2008 report on emergency preparedness research priorities (Altevogt et al. 2008). One high-risk population mentioned in the report is the approximately 2.4 million residents of long-term care facilities (LTCF) such as nursing homes and assisted living facilities. As a group, LTCFs often take care of residents with serious comorbid conditions such as cognitive impairment, functional disability, hearing and visual impairment, mental health concerns (e.g., depression and anxiety), and chronic medical conditions (e.g., diabetes, congestive heart failure, chronic renal insufœciency, and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease). These conditions make this population particularly susceptible to the perils of disasters.
