Meeting Mental Health Needs Following a Natural Disaster: Lessons From Hurricane Katrina

Hurricane Katrina had a devastating impact on hundreds of thousands of Louisiana and Mississippi families. Housing was destroyed, jobs were lost, and family members were separated, sometimes in different states and without communication. Postdisaster stress reactions were common, with vulnerable individuals most affected. Mental health services were not adequate to meet immediate needs, and postdisaster …

Mental Health Services in Louisiana School-Based Health Centers Post-Hurricanes Katrina and Rita

Following Hurricanes Katrina and Rita, Louisiana school-based health centers (SBHCs) were called on to respond to a sharp increase in mental health needs, especially for displaced students coping with grief, loss, trauma, and uncertainty. To assess the impact of the hurricanes on the students and the needs of SBHC mental health providers (MHPs), we surveyed …

The 2008 American Preparedness Project: Why Parents May Not Heed Evacuation Orders and What Emergency Planners, Families and Schools Need to Know

Since 2002, the National Center for Disaster Preparedness (NCDP) at Columbia University’s Mailman School of Public Health, and The Children’s Health Fund (CHF), have conducted annual surveys of public attitudes and personal preparedness in the aftermath of the terror attacks of September 11, 2001. Produced in collaboration with the Marist College Institute for Public Opinion …

Building Integrated Mental Health and Medical Programs for Vulnerable Populations Post-Disaster: Connecting Children and Families to a Medical Home

Introduction: Hurricane Katrina, a Category 3 hurricane, made landfall in August 2005. Approximately 1,500 deaths have been directly attributed to the hurricane, primarily in Louisiana and Mississippi. In New Orleans, Louisiana, most of the healthcare infrastructure was destroyed by flooding, and >200,000 residents became homeless. Many of these internally displaced persons received transitional housing in …

The American Preparedness Project: Where the US Public Stands in 2007 on Terrorism, Security, and Disaster Preparedness

Since 2002, the National Center for Disaster Preparedness (NCDP) at Columbia University’s Mailman School of Public Health and The Children’s Health Fund (CHF), have conducted annual surveys of public attitudes and personal preparedness in the aftermath of the terror attacks of September 11, 2001. Produced in collaboration with the Marist College Institute for Public Opinion …

Children and Megadisasters: Lessons Learned in the New Millennium

Hurricane Katrina is America’s most recent encounter with a megadisaster. But what made it a megadisaster instead of just another category 3 hurricane of the type that seasonally exists in the Gulf of Mexico? Katrina was not the largest or strongest hurricane to strike the United States mainland in the recent past, but its effects …

Challenges in Meeting Immediate Emotional Needs: Short-term Impact of a Major Disaster on Children's Mental Health: Building Resiliency in the Aftermath of Huricanne Katrina

Disasters, whether resulting from terrorism or natural events, have a dramatic impact on the health and well-being of children. Studies after the terror attacks of September 11, 2001, in New York City and the 1995 Oklahoma City bombing and countless reports on the impact of natural disasters on children show that a child’s mental health …

How Americans Feel About Terrorism and Security: Three Years After September 11

The following is a product of The National Center for Disaster Preparedness (NCDP) at Columbia University’s Mailman School of Public Health, commissioned in collaboration with The Children’s Health Fund (CHF), and conducted by the Marist Institute for Public Opinion. NCDP is a major national and international resource in disaster and terrorism readiness. NCDP includes one …

How Americans Feel About Terrorism And Security: Two Years After 9/11

Understanding attitudes, concerns and reactions of individuals and families is critical to emergency planning efforts on all levels. In order to have effective implementation of a disaster plan, people need to be confident in (a) the reliability of information from official sources, (b) the capacity of government to perform effectively in a crisis and (c) …

The 9/11 terror attacks: Emotional consequences persist for children and their families

The terror attacks of Sept. 11, 2001, on the World Trade Center in New York City and the Pentagon in Washington, D.C., are unique in American history. The magnitude of the attack in New York, in terms of loss of life and property, was enormous. The destroyed twin towers of the World Trade Center had …