Predicting patterns of disaster-related resiliency among older adult Typhoon Haiyan survivors

Highlights

• The number of disasters has risen steadily.

• The effects of disasters have caused long-term physical and psychosocial trauma to older adults.

• Spirituality and positive attitudes of older adults were associated with disaster resiliency.

• The findings of this study provide important insights for LGUs and healthcare professionals in supporting and promoting positive mindset activities and spiritual care among older adult survivors.

Abstract

Reported natural disasters are steadily increasing, yet there is limited previous research explicitly exploring the predictors of disaster resiliency among older people from typhoon-hit provinces. This study examined the relationships between life satisfaction, attitude, spirituality and locus of control towards resiliency among older adult Typhoon Haiyan survivors. A descriptive correlational design was conducted among these survivors in the Eastern Philippines. Standard multiple linear regression analysis was used in the study. The findings indicated that spirituality and attitude were significant predictors of the survivors' resiliency. The spirituality and positive attitudes of the older adults were associated with disaster resiliency among the typhoon survivors. Thus, the findings suggest the need for nurse gerontologists to promote spirituality and encourage positive attitudes among older adults.

Introduction

The number of natural disasters around the world has steadily risen in recent decades, thereby rendering these disasters a global concern. Disasters have included Hurricane Maria in the Dominican Republic,¹ the Haitian earthquake,² the Mexican earthquake,³ flooding in Bangladesh,⁴ flooding and landslides in Sierra Leone⁵ and Hurricane Harvey in the United States.⁶ These disasters have caused loss of lives, environmental damage and disruption to essential functions.⁷ For some individuals, natural disasters can cause trauma so great that it exceeds their innate ability to cope effectively.⁸ These disasters can have extended effects on recovery, especially in countries that are disaster prone.

For example, the Philippines is a highly disaster-prone area that regularly faces natural calamities, including typhoons, tsunamis and extreme weather events.⁹ Reports indicate that the country has suffered from a number of deadly disasters during the last decade. The frequency and magnitude of these disasters are ascribed to the country's position along the typhoon belt region, thereby rendering the Philippines the country most vulnerable to typhoons in the world.¹⁰ In 2013, the country was struck by one of the most intense typhoons recorded in history – Typhoon Haiyan.¹¹ Studies that investigated the older adult survivors (people over the age of 65) of Typhoon Haiyan reported long-term physical and psychosocial trauma as a result of their experience.12, 13

Empirical findings suggest that psychological distress is a predictor of post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) across the lifespan.¹³ In particular, older adults are the most vulnerable population for trauma related to natural disasters because of their decreased physical function, which diminishes their capacity to survive.¹⁴ Previous research has shown that disaster experiences in older adults can increase their risk of depression.¹⁵ The findings from these studies imply that trauma experienced as a result of natural disasters can have pervasive and long-term consequences. However, other studies have shown that older adults have the potential to recover from traumatic experiences and become more resilient to future disasters.¹⁶ This resilience improves survivors' ability to recover¹⁷ and quality of life.¹⁸

Empirical data show that certain factors allow older adults to become resilient more effectively than other individuals.15, 19, 20, 21 For example, previous exposure to a natural disaster could buffer older adults' negative experience of the event, which may lead them to promote disaster-related resiliency.¹⁵ Frequent exposure to disasters has potentially been found to lead older adults to adapt to traumatic experiences.¹⁹ Other studies suggest that previous experiences, culture20, 21 and attitude lead to resilience,²² while previous research has shown that an internal locus of control enhances individual adaptive capacities under adverse conditions.²³ These studies provide evidence that life satisfaction, spirituality, attitude and locus of control play crucial roles in coping with natural disasters.15, 16, 19, 24

In the current literature, older Filipino adults' cheerful dispositions,²⁵ positive attitudes, care received from family and spirituality are regarded key factors that affect their resiliency.²⁶ However, at this time, the adaptation and coping skills of older Filipino adults regarding natural disasters are not well understood.²⁷ There is also limited empirical work examining the factors that predict older adult survivors' patterns of resiliency following a catastrophe. Specifically, there are no published peer-reviewed studies that have attempted to understand how older adult survivors coped with the traumatic experience of Typhoon Haiyan.²⁸ Further, despite some academic discourse in the literature on disaster resiliency, there is no known empirical research focusing on the factors that predict disaster resiliency among older adult survivors.

Thus, this study investigated older adults' adaptation patterns after a super-typhoon in the Philippines. Specifically, this study addressed the association between life satisfaction, attitude (positive or negative), sense of spirituality and locus of control (internal or external) towards resilience among older adults who survived Typhoon Haiyan. It was hypothesised that life satisfaction, attitude (positive or negative), sense of spirituality and locus of control among older Filipino people would be associated with resilience after Typhoon Haiyan.

Understanding the factors that predict disaster-related resiliency is necessary to understand how older adults' perspectives of disaster resiliency align with public health emergency preparedness, response and practice. The results of this study could provide a conceptual framework for disaster-related risk-reduction strategies and policies.