Emergency Supply Kits and Medical Self-Sufficiency: Lessons from Hurricane Ian

Area of Science:

• Disaster preparedness
• Public health
• Health services research

Background:

• Emergency supply kits (ESKs) are proposed to enhance self-sufficiency during disasters, particularly for individuals with chronic health conditions (CHCs).
• Empirical evidence supporting the effectiveness of ESKs in promoting medical self-sufficiency remains limited.
• Understanding the role of ESKs is crucial for vulnerable populations during public health emergencies.

Purpose of the Study:

• To investigate the association between possessing ESKs and household members seeking medicine.
• To examine the relationship between ESK possession and individuals with CHCs accessing medical care post-disaster.
• To evaluate the impact of ESKs on medical self-sufficiency in a disaster context.

Main Methods:

• A survey was administered to 1342 households in southwest Florida following Hurricane Ian.
• Logistic regression models were employed to assess associations between ESK possession and key outcomes.
• Analyses were conducted on the overall sample and specifically on households with members having CHCs.

Main Results:

• ESK possession was more prevalent in households with CHCs (63%) compared to those without (56%).
• No significant association was found between ESK possession and leaving home for medicine in the general population (aOR=1.27).
• In households with CHCs, ESK possession showed no clear association with leaving home for medicine (aOR=1.35) or seeking medical care (aOR=1.07).

Conclusions:

• The study found no evidence that ESKs enhance medical self-sufficiency among households post-disaster.
• Limitations include uncharacterized ESK contents and CHC details, and potential uncontrolled confounding.
• Future research should explore medication types, CHC specifics, and duration/severity to better understand ESK utility.