Rowan researcher awarded 2.8M to study Sandy effects

Andrew Sheldon//July 14, 2014

In the fall of 2012, New Jersey was ravaged by Hurricane Sandy. While the population sustained damage statewide, one of the most affected groups was New Jersey’s elderly. Statistics show seniors accounted for 65 percent of storm-related deaths, but little to no research has been conducted regarding the lasting effects on senior survivors,…Rachel Pruchno, Ph.D., of the Rowan University School of Osteopathic Medicine, has begun to study these lasting effects as the result of a five-year, $2.8 million grant from the National Institute on Aging.

“Only a few studies have ever attempted to examine the physical health, decreased physical functioning and increased pain older adults experience in the wake of a disaster,” Pruchno said in a news release.

The study includes a data panel of close to 6,000 New Jersey senior citizens and is expected to play a role in driving policy reforms concerning the long-term health concerns of disasters as they become more prevalent in the approaching years.

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