Open AccessPreassessment of Community-Based Organization Preparedness in Two Sectors, Human Services and Faith Based: New York City, 2016
Author(s) -
Luis Rivera,
Melissa Pagaoa,
Noelle-Angelique Molinari,
Beth Maldin Morgenthau,
Tanya Telfair LeBlanc
Publication year - 2019
Publication title -
american journal of public health
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 2.284
H-Index - 264
eISSN - 1541-0048
pISSN - 0090-0036
DOI - 10.2105/ajph.2019.305141
Subject(s) - preparedness , human services , emergency management , faith , faith based organizations , agency (philosophy) , public sector , business , public relations , medicine , political science , sociology , social science , philosophy , theology , law
Objectives. To determine the level of preparedness among New York City community-based organizations by using a needs assessment. Methods. We distributed online surveys to 582 human services and 6017 faith-based organizations in New York City from March 17, 2016 through May 11, 2016. We calculated minimal indicators of preparedness to determine the proportion of organizations with preparedness indicators. We used bivariate analyses to examine associations between agency characteristics and minimal preparedness indicators. Results. Among the 210 human service sector respondents, 61.9% reported emergency management plans and 51.9% emergency communications systems in place. Among the 223 faith-based respondents, 23.9% reported emergency management plans and 92.4% emergency communications systems in place. Only 10.0% of human services and 18.8% of faith-based organizations reported having funds allocated for emergency response. Only 2.9% of human services sector and 39.5% of faith-based sector respondents reported practicing emergency communication alerts. Conclusions. New York City human service and faith-based sector organizations are striving to address emergency preparedness concerns, although notable gaps are evident. Public Health Implications. Our results can inform the development of metrics for community-based organizational readiness.