Assessing the Relationship Between Social Vulnerability and Community Resilience to Hazards.
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SUBMITTER: Bergstrand K
PROVIDER: S-EPMC5739329 | biostudies-literature | 2015 Jun
REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature
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Assessing the Relationship Between Social Vulnerability and Community Resilience to Hazards.
Bergstrand Kelly K Mayer Brian B Brumback Babette B Zhang Yi Y
Social indicators research 20140716 2
This article contributes to the disaster literature by measuring and connecting two concepts that are highly related but whose relationship is rarely empirically evaluated: social vulnerability and community resilience. To do so, we measure community resilience and social vulnerability in counties across the United States and find a correlation between high levels of vulnerability and low levels of resilience, indicating that the most vulnerable counties also tend to be the least resilient. We a ...[more]
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Project description:Non-technical summaryOur analysis shows that the framing of social vulnerability is shaped by a narrow definition of resilience, focusing on post-disaster return and recovery responses. This perspective does not account for the dynamism and non-stationarity of social-ecological systems (SES) which is becoming increasingly important in the face of accelerating environmental change. Incorporating social-ecological resilience into social vulnerability analysis can improve coastal governance by accounting for adaptation and transformation, as well as scale and cross-scale interactions.Technical summarySocial vulnerability analysis has been unable to deliver outcomes that reflect the reality of vulnerability and its consequences in an era characterised by accelerating environmental change. In this work, we used critical discourse analysis and key informant interviews to understand different framings of social vulnerability in coastal governance and management, globally and in New Zealand. We found that the framing of system vulnerability could vary depending on the definition of resilience adopted, which has critical ramifications for coastal governance of linked systems of humans and nature. We found that the framing of social vulnerability in coastal governance is mainly influenced by engineering, community and disaster resilience, focusing on return and recovery governance responses to environmental change (e.g. hurricanes, wildfires). Instead, we suggest a novel perspective based on social-ecological resilience, which more accurately reflects the dynamics of linked systems of humans and nature (SES). This revised perspective, general vulnerability, accounts for the dynamics of Earth's systems across various spatial and temporal scales in the face of accelerating environmental change. Accounting for social-ecological resilience and its core aspects (i.e. panarchy, adaptation and transformation) is essential for informing coastal governance of SES (Do we adapt? or Do we transform the SES?).Social media summarySocial-ecological resilience is essential for social vulnerability analysis in the face of accelerating environmental change.
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Project description:BackgroundEnvironmental health disparity research involves the use of metrics to assess exposure to community-level vulnerabilities or inequities. While numerous vulnerability indices have been developed, there is no agreement on standardization or appropriate use, they have largely been applied in urban areas, and their interpretation and utility likely vary across different geographies.ObjectiveWe evaluated the spatial distribution, variability, and relationships among different metrics of social vulnerability and isolation across urban and rural settings to inform interpretation and selection of metrics for environmental disparity research.MethodsFor all census tracts in North Carolina, we conducted a principal components analysis using 23 socioeconomic/demographic variables from the 2010 United States Census and American Community Survey. We calculated or obtained the neighborhood deprivation index (NDI), residential racial isolation index (RI), educational isolation index (EI), Gini coefficient, and social vulnerability index (SVI). Statistical analyses included Moran's I for spatial clustering, t-tests for urban-rural differences, Pearson correlation coefficients, and changes in ranking of tracts across metrics.ResultsSocial vulnerability metrics exhibited clear spatial patterning (Moran's I ≥ 0.30, p < 0.01). Greater educational isolation and more intense neighborhood deprivation was observed in rural areas and greater racial isolation in urban areas. Single-domain metrics were not highly correlated with each other (rho ≤ 0.36), while composite metrics (i.e., NDI, SVI, principal components analysis) were highly correlated (rho > 0.80). Composite metrics were more highly correlated with the racial isolation metric in urban (rho: 0.54-0.64) versus rural tracts (rho: 0.36-0.48). Census tract rankings changed considerably based on which metric was being applied.SignificanceHigh correlations between composite metrics within urban and rural tracts suggests they could be used interchangeably; single domain metrics cannot. Composite metrics capture different facets of vulnerabilities in urban and rural settings, and these complexities should be examined by researchers applying metrics to areas of diverse urban and rural forms.
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Project description:BackgroundAccording to the stress inoculation hypothesis, successfully navigating life stressors may improve one's ability to cope with subsequent stressors, thereby increasing psychiatric resilience.AimsAmong individuals with no baseline history of post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and/or major depressive disorder (MDD), to determine whether a history of a stressful life event protected participants against the development of PTSD and/or MDD after a natural disaster.MethodAnalyses utilised data from a multiwave, prospective cohort study of adult Chilean primary care attendees (years 2003-2011; n = 1160). At baseline, participants completed the Composite International Diagnostic Interview (CIDI), a comprehensive psychiatric diagnostic instrument, and the List of Threatening Experiences, a 12-item questionnaire that measures major stressful life events. During the study (2010), the sixth most powerful earthquake on record struck Chile. One year later (2011), the CIDI was re-administered to assess post-disaster PTSD and/or MDD.ResultsMarginal structural logistic regressions indicated that for every one-unit increase in the number of pre-disaster stressors, the odds of developing post-disaster PTSD or MDD increased (OR = 1.21, 95% CI 1.08-1.37, and OR = 1.16, 95% CI 1.06-1.27 respectively). When categorising pre-disaster stressors, individuals with four or more stressors (compared with no stressors) had higher odds of developing post-disaster PTSD (OR = 2.77, 95% CI 1.52-5.04), and a dose-response relationship between pre-disaster stressors and post-disaster MDD was found.ConclusionsIn contrast to the stress inoculation hypothesis, results indicated that experiencing multiple stressors increased the vulnerability to developing PTSD and/or MDD after a natural disaster. Increased knowledge regarding the individual variations of these disorders is essential to inform targeted mental health interventions after a natural disaster, especially in under-studied populations.
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Project description:BackgroundSocial vulnerability indicators are associated with health care inequities and may similarly impede ongoing participation in research studies. We evaluated the association of social vulnerability indicators and research participant attrition in a trial focused on reducing health disparities.MethodsSelf-identified White or Black adults enrolled in the HYVALUE trial (Hypertension and VALUEs), a randomized trial testing a values-affirmation intervention on medication adherence, from February 2017 to September 2019 were included. The self-reported measures of social vulnerability indicators included: (1) Black race; (2) female gender; (3) no health insurance; (4) unemployment; (5) a high school diploma or less; and (6) financial-resource strain. Full attrition was defined as not completing at least one 3- or 6-month follow-up study visit. Log-binomial regression models adjusted for age, gender, race, medical comorbidities, and the other social vulnerability indicators to estimate the relative risk of each social vulnerability indicator with study attrition.ResultsAmong 825 participants, the mean age was 63.3 years (±11.7 years), 60% were women, 54% were Black, and 97% reported at least one social vulnerability. Overall, 21% participants had full attrition after study enrollment. After adjustment for all other social vulnerabilities, only financial-resource strain remained consistently associated with full attrition (relative risk, 1.71 [95% CI, 1.28-2.29]). In a secondary analysis of partial attrition (completed only one follow-up visit), financial-resource strain (relative risk, 1.40 [95% CI, 1.09-1.81]) and being uninsured (relative risk, 1.54 [95% CI, 1.01-2.34]) were associated with partial attrition.ConclusionsIn a trial aimed at reducing disparities in medication adherence, participants who reported financial-resource strain had a higher risk of participant attrition independent of race or gender. Our findings suggest that efforts to retain diverse populations in clinical trials should extend beyond race and gender to consider other social vulnerability indicators.RegistrationURL: https://www.Clinicaltrialsgov; Unique identifier: NCT03028597.
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Project description:An index of vulnerability to coastal change, integrating indices of social vulnerability and exposure to coastal hazards, was created for East Africa to identify 'areas of priority concern' for risk reduction. Currently, 22% of East Africa's coastline and 3.5 million people are at higher levels of exposure to coastal hazards, which would increase, respectively, to 39% and 6.9 million people if mangroves, coral reefs and seagrasses are lost. Madagascar and Mozambique show the largest proportion of the coastline at higher exposure, while Kenya and Tanzania benefit the most from natural coastal protection. Coral reefs protect 2.5 million people from higher exposure, mostly in Mombasa, Zanzibar and Dar es Salaam. Considering Mozambique, Kenya and Tanzania, the latter is the least, and the former is the most vulnerable. Under current conditions, 17 (out of 86) coastal districts are considered 'areas of priority concern'; four of these are critically exposed as over 90% of their shoreline length are at higher exposure (Zavala, Inharrime, Manhiça and Mandlakaze, all in southern Mozambique). These locations are of critical concern for any present or future coastal development due to the high level of exposure posed to both vulnerable people and investments. Habitat loss would increase the number of 'priority concern' districts to 24; some would show great increase in the population exposed (e.g. Pemba and Mossuril in Mozambique). Applying this knowledge to identify where ecosystem-based management should be prioritised to promote social and environmental resilience is timely and urgent in East Africa.Supplementary informationThe online version contains supplementary material available at 10.1007/s12237-021-00930-5.
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2007-09-01 | GSE8870 | GEO
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Project description:Health is a fundamental human right, yet healthcare facilities are not distributed equitably across all communities. This study aims to investigate the distribution of healthcare facilities in Nassau County, New York, and examine whether the distribution is equitable across different social vulnerability levels. An optimized hotspot analysis was conducted on a dataset of 1695 healthcare facilities-dental, dialysis, ophthalmic, and urgent care-in Nassau County, and social vulnerability was measured using the FPIS codes. The study found that healthcare facilities were disproportionately distributed in the county, with a higher concentration in areas of low social vulnerability compared to areas of high social vulnerability. The majority of healthcare facilities were found to be clustered in two ZIP codes-11020 and 11030-that rank among the top ten wealthiest in the county. The results of this study suggest that socially vulnerable residents in Nassau County are at a disadvantage when it comes to attaining equitable access to healthcare facilities. The distribution pattern highlights the need for interventions to improve access to care for marginalized communities and to address the underlying determinants of healthcare facility segregation in the county.
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Project description:Understanding how social dynamics interact with natural hazards is one of the main challenges at global and local scales in the world for studying social vulnerability to natural hazards. In this study, we explore the spatial and temporal changes of social vulnerability of cities in Zhejiang province to natural hazards in China for the last decade. Based on the Zhejiang province's census data and the demographics and socioeconomic data during the period from 2009 to 2018, we have characterized social vulnerability through the Social Vulnerability Index (SoVI) for 11 cities throughout the province during 2009-2018 and examined spatial changes in social vulnerability using equal interval method. The results indicated that although the comprehensive vulnerability of Zhejiang province shows a declining trend at a county level, the social vulnerability of different city at the provincial level has obvious differences.
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