Loc H. Nguyen

Exploring the causal relationship between exposure to the 1994 northridge earthquake and pre- and post- earthquake preparedness activities

Whether, when, and why individuals prepare for disasters are major concerns of disaster preparedness researchers. Using population-based survey data collected after the 1994 Northridge earthquake, multinomial logistic models are imposed to examine if preparedness activities were adopted after the quake because of quake-related financial loss, physical and emotional injury, and proximity to the earthquake epicenter and shaking. The extent to which people invest in sustained preparedness was also examined by comparing the preparedness activities occurring both before and after the earthquake. The results indicated that exposure to physical, financial, and emotional injuries, and to shaking increased post-quake preparedness. Engaging in certain types of pre-quake preparedness increased the likelihood of post-quake preparedness. Post-quake preparedness is not affected by socioeconomic status or demographic factors, except that married persons are more likely to prepare in all situations and immigrants are more likely to adopt post-quake preparedness activities.

Using the brief symptom inventory to profile monolingual spanish‐speaking psychiatric outpatients

As part of a larger study (Acosta, Evans, Hurwicz, & Yamamoto, 1987), a translated version of the Brief Symptom Inventory (BSI) was given to 153 monolingual Spanish-speaking psychiatric outpatients in the Los Angeles area. The raw mean scores on the nine primary symptom dimensions and the Global Severity Index (GSI) of the Spanish-speaking population were compared with the published raw mean scores of a normative sample of English-speaking psychiatric outpatients. Results suggested that the Spanish-speaking population had higher symptom levels on several dimensions and the GSI. It was suggested that the BSI could be a potentially useful instrument for self-reported psychiatric symptomatology among the Spanish-speaking population if an appropriate translation of the BSI were used.

Dimensionality and Reliability of the Civilian Mississippi Scale for PTSD in a Postearthquake Community

This study examines psychometric properties of the Civilian Mississippi Scale for posttraumatic stress disorder when administered in a community survey of 656 persons following the 1989 Loma Prieta earthquake. Internal consistency was lower (Cronbachs α = .73) than for previous analyses of civilian and combat versions of the Mississippi Scale. The analysis produced one strong factor composed of 25 items with regular wording and a second, weaker factor composed of 10 items with reversed wording. Internal consistency was higher when the 10 reversed items were removed (Cronbachs α = .86); the two factors were negatively correlated. Traumatic experiences and psychological distress measures explained more variance in the 25-item factor than in the 35-item scale. Further studies should focus on content analysis and performance of the reversed items.

A Public Health Response to Data Interoperability to Prevent Child Maltreatment

The sharing of data, particularly health data, has been an important tool for the public health community, especially in terms of data sharing across systems (i.e., interoperability). Child maltreatment is a serious public health issue that could be better mitigated if there were interoperability. There are challenges to addressing child maltreatment interoperability that include the current lack of data sharing among systems, the lack of laws that promote interoperability to address child maltreatment, and the lack of data sharing at the individual level. There are waivers in federal law that allow for interoperability to prevent communicable diseases at the individual level. Child maltreatment has a greater long-term impact than a number of communicable diseases combined, and interoperability should be leveraged to maximize public health strategies to prevent child maltreatment.

Examining Self-Perceived First-aid Abilities After the Northridge Earthquake

INTRODUCTION This study examines those factors predictive of self-perceived first-aid abilities among a community-based sample after the 1994 Northridge earthquake. METHODS A probabilities-proportionate-to-size (pps) sample of residents of Los Angeles Country and 11 pre-selected zip codes from southeastern Ventura County was selected using computer-generated random digit-dialing (rdd) procedures 7-11 months after the earthquake. Data were collected from 506 individuals in 45 minute interviews. A unidimensional scale of self-perceived first-aid ability was created and represents the dependent variable in a causal path model. RESULTS In a causal path model, standardized path coefficients suggested that while reports of taking first-aid courses were the most influential factors in predicting higher self-perceived first-aid abilities, other factors including being white, younger, speaking English in the home, and lower income also predicted higher self-perceived first-aid abilities that were independent from taking formal first-aid courses. CONCLUSIONS First-aid training should be directed towards target segments of the population that are not likely to have had instruction in these basic skills. Those individuals who self-report high first-aid proficiency, independent of formal first-aid training, should be evaluated to assess their abilities to perform these skills.