CASPERs in Oregon

2017 – Drought CASPER

Type: Response
Event: Drought
Location: Crook County
Purpose: Drought can have a substantial impact on the economy, the environment, and the affected communities, leading to both direct and indirect public health consequences. Snowpack is a main source of water storage and stream flows for many parts of Oregon. In Crook County, the drought has had a severe impact on snowpack, resulting in below average irrigation and stream flows, thereby affecting the local farmers and ranchers. The Oregon Public Health Division and the Crook County Health Department is conducting a Community Assessment for Public Health Emergency Response (CASPER) to assess the effects of the drought on the community. The results generated from this survey will be collected and analyzed to enhance drought-related response efforts. The CASPER assessed topics such as sources, quality, quantity, and ease of access to water before and during drought; communication practices and preferences; household knowledge, attitudes, and beliefs about drought and its mitigation; perception of the impact of drought on physical and mental health; financial impact of drought; and prevalence of behaviors that can make households more at-risk for drought-related health effects (for example, not washing hands because of water scarcity).
Report: Unpublished report available upon request

2016 – Assessment of Emergency Preparedness in Washington County Residents

Type: Preparedness
Location: Washington County
Purpose: Washington County is one of three counties making up the Portland Oregon metropolitan area. Located west of Portland, Washington County is the second most populous county in Oregon. The county spans 726 square miles and has an estimated population of 583,595 residents with 217,085(± 279) housing units. Washington County contains 104 Census Tracts ranging from highly urban populous areas of 0.4 square miles with a population density of over 13,000 people per square mile to highly rural areas of greater than 152 square miles with a population density of about 14 people per square mile. A CASPER survey was conducted in Washington County on June 4, 2016 in conjunction with a Cascadia Rising federal emergency preparedness exercise. The focus of the assessment was to evaluate local prevalence of emergency preparedness in the county and to develop local disaster epidemiology capacity. This was the first county-wide CASPER in Oregon.