Community Resilience to Disaster Risk in Older Adults: Socio‑Community Attributes and Resilient Dimensions Produced via Participatory Strategies

Abstract

To analyze the relationship between the notion of community and community resilience of the elderly in the face of disaster risk processes. Community components and personal, contextual, and structural attributes of resilience were explored using a research-action design in seven communities of elderly people in Ñuble, Chile. Four key components were identified (objectives, resources, organization, and needs), with a remarkable diversity in the specific adaptive strategies of each community. While elderly people were revealed to have the capacity to cope with daily crises, they have limitations in their capacity to adapt to disasters. To understand community resilience of the elderly in the face of socio-natural disasters, it is crucial to precisely define the terms “community” and “community resilience,” taking a comprehensive and practical approach to disaster risk management that includes both crisis recovery as well as preparedness and adaptation to future disasters.