Funded Research by Theme

Narayan Sastry

Two key tasks will be undertaken at the University of Michigan as part of this project. First, we will collaborate with the Elizabeth Fussell and other staff at Brown University as well as with staff at the U.S. Census Bureau to design and implement the analysis of linked data from the Decennial Census, the American Community Survey, and other federal data in order to evaluate the effects of Hurricane Katrina on the population of New Orleans. Second, we will participate with other members of the research team in preparing manuscripts describing our data, research methods, and results; presenting these findings at academic conferences and other venues; and publishing the manuscripts in leading social science journals.

Weather-related disasters are a regular occurrence in the U.S., yet we know very little about their long-term impacts. Hurricane Katrina, which struck New Orleans on August 29, 2005, is one of the most researched disasters in U.S. history with most health-related research focused on short-term outcomes, such as mortality, and mental health. In general, little is known about long-term effects of disasters in the U.S. due to a lack of appropriate data and the high cost of designing and collecting representative samples of the exposed population after a disaster. This highly innovative project overcomes barriers to scientific knowledge about long-term disaster impacts by using existing census, survey, and administrative data to construct several longitudinal population representative data sets for the Katrina-affected New Orleans population with sample sizes large enough to study small groups and sample designs that will produce unbiased results. The longitudinal datasets produced will allow for the examination of hypotheses based in stress and social vulnerability theories. The analyses will examine the residential mobility, neighborhood characteristics, economic status, mortality, and health outcomes of the Katrina-affected residents of New Orleans in the decade following the disaster (2006-2015). The results will provide key information for designing effective disaster mitigation and response policies to promote wellbeing and eliminate health disparities among disaster- affected populations.