The Short- and Long-Term Impacts of Hurricane Irma on Florida Agricultural Leaders as Early Emergency Responders: The Importance of Workplace Stability

Details

• Personal Author:
  Cohen S ; Grattan LM ; Irani T ; Kilmon KA ; Liang Y ; Lindsay A ; Morris JG
• Description:
  The impacts of hurricane-related disasters in agricultural communities include extensive losses of fields, orchards, and livestock, the recovery of which could span many years. Agricultural Extension Agents (EAs) try to manage and mitigate these losses, while simultaneously overseeing emergency shelter operations. These non-professional emergency responders face numerous potential stressors, the outcomes of which are minimally known. This study examined the short- and long-term medical and behavioral outcome of 36 University of Florida Agricultural Extension Agents within two months and one year after Hurricane Irma, Florida, USA, taking into consideration personal/home and work-related hurricane impacts. Regression analyses indicated that combined home and work hurricane impacts were associated with greater anxiety, depression, and medical symptoms controlling for age and number of prior hurricane experiences within two months of landfall. One year later, depression symptoms increased as well as the use of negative disengagement coping strategies for which stability of the work environment was protective. The findings suggest that advanced training in emergency response, organization and time management skills, time off and temporary replacement for personally impacted EAs, and workplace stability, including enhanced continuity of operations plans, represent critical elements of health prevention and early intervention for this occupational group. [Description provided by NIOSH]
• Subjects:
  Cyclonic Storms Emergencies Mental Health Nervous System Occupational Health Safety
• Keywords:
  Agricultural Extension Workers Author Keywords: Hurricanes Community Based Coping Behavior Disaster Recovery Disasters Emergency Response Hurricane Impact Hurricanes Mental Health Non-professional First Responders Post-disaster Behavioral Health Post-traumatic Stress Disorder PTSD Workplace Stability

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• ISSN:
  1660-4601
• Document Type:
  Text
• Funding:
  Cooperative Agreement
• Genre:
  Journal Article
• Place as Subject:
  Florida ; Maryland ; OSHA Region 3 ; OSHA Region 4
• CIO:
  National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH)
• Topic:
  Workplace Safety & Health
• Location:
  North America
• Volume:
  17
• Issue:
  3
• NIOSHTIC Number:
  nn:20058623
• Citation:
  Int J Environ Res Public Health 2020 Feb; 17(3):1050
• Contact Point Address:
  Lynn M. Grattan, Department of Neurology, Neuropsychology Program, University of Maryland School of Medicine, Baltimore, MD 21201, USA
• Email:
  LGrattan@som.umaryland.edu
• Federal Fiscal Year:
  2020
• NORA Priority Area:
  Agriculture, Forestry and Fishing
• Performing Organization:
  University of Florida, Gainesville
• Peer Reviewed:
  True
• Start Date:
  20160930
• Source Full Name:
  International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health
• End Date:
  20270929
• Collection(s):
  National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health
• Main Document Checksum:
  urn:sha-512:a181ca3aed608a9ebf28ebea259deaae4eab5bcb6b63dc46441a954d24dabf1ee04b0e3b9428018e8723062dca065d247dc276cbe490a65b252b0d60f4b50744
• Download URL:
  https://stacks.cdc.gov/view/cdc/221666/cdc_221666_DS1.pdf
• File Type:
  [PDF - 802.97 KB ]