The Categories

As planners and communities embark on the process of defining, locating, and reaching their at-risk populations, there are advantages to beginning with very broad categories. Working in broad categories can be an effective and manageable starting point. The key advantage of this approach is that it allows you to examine the nature of the vulnerability that might put someone at higher risk in an emergency.

For example, a plan to identify every language other than English spoken in a community will produce a very long list. On the other hand, a plan to identify demographically significant groups of individuals with no or limited English proficiency or those with very low literacy levels will yield one category: Language and Literacy.

Many sub-groups that make up broader categories of populations experience some of the same communication barriers. For instance, whether the intended audience speaks Spanish or Chinese or simply does not read or understand English well, the communication barrier is a language or literacy issue and many of the strategies for message adaptation can be the same. Instead of translating emergency messages into 126 languages spoken in a community, public health departments have initiated pilot efforts to convey crucial information in simple, picture-based messages that are easily understood by everyone.

As you start to define, locate, and reach at-risk populations, five broad, descriptive categories will help you group people who are at risk:

• Economic Disadvantage
• Language and Literacy
• Medical Issues and Disability (physical, mental, cognitive, or sensory)
• Isolation (cultural, geographic, or social)
• Age

Many individuals do not typically fall neatly into one category or population group or they might fall into more than one. In some cases, an individual might not fall into one of these categories but could have a family member who does. When this occurs, efforts to provide emergency services can be thwarted because family members do not want to be separated.

After a widespread emergency, people might find themselves stranded, displaced, destitute, homeless, or sick. They might experience challenges that leave them newly vulnerable or suddenly outside of mainstream communications in ways they did not experience before the emergency. These factors can create new at-risk populations.