{"status":"ok","message-type":"work","message-version":"1.0.0","message":{"indexed":{"date-parts":[[2026,9,17]],"date-time":"2026-09-17T18:00:03Z","timestamp":1789668003547,"version":"4.0.1"},"reference-count":68,"publisher":"Public Library of Science (PLoS)","issue":"1","license":[{"start":{"date-parts":[[2025,1,16]],"date-time":"2025-01-16T00:00:00Z","timestamp":1736985600000},"content-version":"vor","delay-in-days":0,"URL":"http:\/\/creativecommons.org\/licenses\/by\/4.0\/"}],"funder":[{"name":"School of Behavioral and Brain Sciences, Ponce Health Sciences University"}],"content-domain":{"domain":["www.plosone.org"],"crossmark-restriction":false},"short-container-title":["PLoS ONE"],"abstract":"<jats:p>The Puerto Rican population has presented demographic changes resulting in a greater proportion of older adults than almost any other country in the world, with an estimated 28% of the total population being over 60 years of age. A key public health issue in Puerto Rico (PR) is older adults\u2019 mental health and wellbeing. Located in the Caribbean, PR is prone to natural hazards such as hurricanes, which are a known threat to older adults\u2019 overall health and wellbeing. However, the needs of older adults in PR and their mental health have been largely neglected, especially in less visible and marginalized rural areas. Therefore, the main objective of this study is to examine the challenges and needs of older adults following Hurricane Mar\u00eda in the rural towns of Adjuntas and Casta\u00f1er, PR. We implemented an exploratory qualitative research design informed by the principles of Liming methodology. We used semi-structured interviews to gather data and analyzed it using thematic analysis. A total of 25 participants engaged in our interview process including older adults (n = 15) and community caregivers and leaders that provide services to older adults (n = 10). We present three main themes regarding older adults\u2019 experiences after Hurricane Mar\u00eda: 1) Challenges to wellbeing (i.e, loneliness, lack of resources), 2) Relational solidarity (i.e., communal support, equitable resource sharing) and 3) <jats:italic>La brega<\/jats:italic> (i.e., adaption and <jats:italic>autogesti\u00f3n<\/jats:italic>). Older adults in Adjuntas and Casta\u00f1er addressed the emergent challenges after Hurricane Mar\u00eda such as loneliness and lack of resources by relying on their communities. These findings highlight the role of community support as a key component to understand and foster older adults\u2019 wellbeing following a natural hazard.<\/jats:p>","DOI":"10.1371\/journal.pone.0316156","type":"journal-article","created":{"date-parts":[[2025,1,16]],"date-time":"2025-01-16T18:50:04Z","timestamp":1737053404000},"page":"e0316156","update-policy":"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.1371\/journal.pone.corrections_policy","source":"Crossref","is-referenced-by-count":4,"title":["\u201cMany old people taking care of old people\u201d: Experiences of older adults after Hurricane Mar\u00eda in Puerto Rico"],"prefix":"10.1371","volume":"20","author":[{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0009-0000-3831-3342","authenticated-orcid":true,"given":"Adri\u00e1n J.","family":"Santiago-Santiago","sequence":"first","affiliation":[],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Jeffrey","family":"Ramos-Santiago","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Eliut","family":"Rivera-Segarra","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]}],"member":"340","published-online":{"date-parts":[[2025,1,16]]},"reference":[{"issue":"7","key":"pone.0316156.ref001","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"964","DOI":"10.1093\/geront\/gnac082","article-title":"Aging and the Left Behind: Puerto Rico and Its Unconventional Rapid Aging.","volume":"62","author":"A Matos-Moreno","year":"2022","journal-title":"Gerontologist."},{"key":"pone.0316156.ref002","article-title":"Quick Facts Puerto Rico","author":"census.gov","year":"2021","journal-title":"U.S. Census Bureau"},{"key":"pone.0316156.ref003","article-title":"Puerto Rico: A U.S. Territory in Crisis","author":"A Cheatham","year":"2022","journal-title":"Council on Foreign Relations"},{"key":"pone.0316156.ref004","article-title":"Countries With the Oldest Populations in the World","author":"prb.org","year":"2022","journal-title":"Population Reference Bureau"},{"issue":"3","key":"pone.0316156.ref005","first-page":"118","article-title":"Disasters Are Not Natural.","volume":"43","author":"S Puttick","year":"2018","journal-title":"Teach Geogr"},{"key":"pone.0316156.ref006","article-title":"In graying Puerto Rico, the elderly face climate disasters alone","author":"AR Hern\u00e1ndez","year":"2023","journal-title":"The Washington Post"},{"key":"pone.0316156.ref007","article-title":"En riesgo los adultos mayores que viven en instituciones de cuido por el alza de COVID-19","author":"M. 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