Att N - Brochure

EVALUATING POSSIBLE EFFECTS FROM FEMA
TRAILERS AFTER HURRICANES KATRINA & RITA
HOW CAN I LEARN MORE ABOUT
THE SURVEY?
Many local community organizations,
private businesses, churches and other
religious institutions, as well as community
leaders in your neighborhood, are working
with the KARE Registry to share information
about the survey.

THE KATRINA AND RITA
EXPOSURES (KARE) REGISTRY

2005

2006

2007

2008

2009

2010

2011

2012

2013

You may also visit our website at
www.KARE.org
or speak with a Registry team member by
calling our toll-free telephone number at
1-xxx-xxx-xxxx.

H

urricanes Katrina and Rita hit the Gulf Coast more than seven years ago, yet
the region is still experiencing many of the effects of the storms. As a result of
the storms, many families were displaced and moved into Federal Emergency

Management Agency (FEMA)-supplied trailers.

THE KATRINA AND RITA
EXPOSURES (KARE) REGISTRY

www.KARE.org

WHAT IS THE KATRINA AND RITA
EXPOSURES (KARE) REGISTRY?
The KARE Registry is a listing of information about
individuals who stayed in FEMA-supplied trailers after the
storms. An important purpose of the current survey is to
help us see if enough eligible people can be found, and
if they are willing to be a part of the Registry. Those who
enroll will be asked to take part in a 20-minute telephone
survey. Registries can help us understand changes over
time in people who may have something in common.
Common experiences of interest to those who have
lived in FEMA-supplied trailers might include exposures
to moisture and mold, exposure to chemicals used in
building materials, or stresses associated with the upheaval
experienced by many Gulf Coast residents who were
impacted by the storms.

WHO ARE THE SPONSORS?
ATSDR, a federal public health agency of the U.S.
Department of Health and Human Services, has asked
RTI International (RTI) to test whether it is possible to put
together a registry. ATSDR serves the public by using the
best science, taking responsive public health actions, and
providing trusted health information to prevent harmful
exposures and diseases related to toxic substances. It
accomplishes this by performing a variety of functions,
including conducting health surveillance and creating
registries like the KARE Registry to track the potential
impact of common exposures and experiences.

Those who lived in trailers are strongly encouraged to enroll.
2005

August 29, 2005—Hurricane Katrina makes landfall near

2006

July 1, 2006—New population estimates by the U.S. Census

WHO CAN PARTICIPATE?

WHAT IS THE PURPOSE OF THE REGISTRY
AND HOW WILL IT BE USED?

• the type of FEMA trailer you stayed in

People who lived in trailers furnished by FEMA after
Hurricanes Katrina and Rita are concerned about whether
living or staying in the trailers has harmed their health. To
begin to look for answers, the Agency for Toxic Substances
and Disease Registry (ATSDR) is testing the idea of
creating the KARE Registry. A registry is a list of people
with something in common. By enrolling, you play an
important part in helping us understand how to study the
possible impact among people who resided in the trailers
of exposures to moisture and mold, chemicals used in
building materials, and other stressors.

• dates when you moved into and out of the trailer

Four Acts, a four-hour documentary by director Spike Lee, that chronicles
the events leading up to Katrina, as well as its immediate aftermath.

2007

• family members or friends who shared the trailer with
you

“Forever New Orleans” campaign is launched by the city’s Convention
and Visitors Bureau.
August 2007—New Orleans officials break ground on a memorial

The goal of the current survey is enroll up to 3,000
individuals from Louisiana, Mississippi, Texas, and
Alabama who stayed in FEMA-supplied trailers as a result
of Hurricanes Katrina and Rita.
RTI will be calling individuals to request participation in the
Registry. If you are eligible and agree to enroll, a KARE
Registry interviewer will ask you a series of questions over
the phone. The interview takes about 20 minutes. Some of
the questions will include

Bureau show a decline of 219,563, or 4.87% of Louisiana’s pre-Katrina
population.
August 2006—HBO releases When the Levees Broke: A Requiem in

The KARE Registry is being conducted by RTI, a non-profit
research organization and leader in health research. RTI
will conduct telephone surveys for the Registry.

The current survey is the first step in creating a registry of
all individuals who stayed in a FEMA-supplied trailer as a
result of the hurricanes. During this first part of the study,
we will enroll up to 3,000 eligible individuals in Louisiana,
Mississippi, Texas, and Alabama. Because many people
left the area in the years after the storms, this first part of
the study will help us determine if enough eligible people
can be found and if they are willing to participate in the
KARE Registry. If this first part of the study is successful,
a full registry can then be done, for which many more
people will be enrolled.

Buras-Triumph, Louisiana, with 125 mph winds, as a strong Category 3
storm. The levees begin to fail, with 28 reported levee failures in the
first 24 hours. Nearly every levee in metro New Orleans is breached
as Hurricane Katrina passes just east of the city limits. The major levee
breaches, which include the 17th Street Canal, the London Avenue Canal,
and Industrial Canal, leave approximately 80% of New Orleans flooded.

honoring the victims of Hurricane Katrina.

2008

Barack Obama becomes the 44th president of the United States.

2009

June 2009—27 of 39 hospitals in New Orleans have reopened.

2010

February 7, 2010—New Orleans Saints win the Superbowl!

• number of hours per day or week you spent in the trailer.

WILL MY INFORMATION BE KEPT PRIVATE?
Yes. All information you provide will be kept private to
the extent permitted by law. The KARE Registry will not
share your personal information with anyone outside of the
study. All published information about the study will be in
summary form only.
RTI International is a trade name of Research Triangle Institute.

March 30, 2010—260 families are still living in FEMA-supplied

trailers in Louisiana and Mississippi.
August 2010—Director Spike Lee releases a sequel documentary, If

God Is Willing and Da Creek Don’t Rise, to mark the fifth anniversary of
Katrina’s arrival and the status of New Orleans and the Gulf region five
years after the storm.

WHERE WERE YOU?