The goal of this study is to assess the relationships between different forms of social capital (community engagement, trust, and social support) on different behavioral health indicators (depression, anxiety, and alcohol misuse).
Here we describe the 2021 Texas blackouts during the COVID-19 pandemic through the lens of disaster risk creation and cascading disaster, showing how risk emerges and propagates across large technological systems.
This report uses interview data collected from public health departments and aging-in-place efforts — specifically, from coordinators of age-friendly communities and village executive directors — to explore how current aging-in-place efforts can be harnessed to strengthen the disaster resilience of older adults and which existing programs or new collaborations among public health departments and these organizations show promise.
This 16-page flyer describes the RAND Gulf States Policy Institute and summarizes some of the research it has tackled since its founding in 2005 after Hurricane Katrina.
Part of a series highlighting innovative models and best practices for leveraging local health departments' involvement in Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act outreach and enrollment, this report describes a case study on New Orleans, Louisiana, that captures nuanced differences in how health departments support these efforts, identifies facilitators and barriers to these approaches, and develop lessons learned from these activities.
This report summarizes seven case studies to highlight innovative models and best practices from seven case studies that leverage local health department (LHD) efforts in Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act outreach and enrollment to facilitate knowledge transfer to other geographic regions. Also, they provide guidance and insight into the current and future role of LHDs, as states continue to enroll residents in health insurance coverage.
We address immigrant day laborers' experiences with occupational safety in the construction industry in New Orleans, and opinions about content and method of communication for educational interventions to reduce occupational risks.
The greater-than-national prevalence of extended-family households in New Orleans increased the incidence of household breakup after Hurricane Katrina. Policymakers should consider pre-disaster household structure in recovery planning.
This report summarizes sessions that RAND researchers convened during the 2010 Louisiana Association of Nonprofit Organizations conference to generate a national policy agenda addressing challenges to effectively engaging nongovernmental organizations in disaster response and recovery and to identify potential policy and program recommendations to address these challenges.
Community resilience, or the sustained ability of a community to withstand and recover from adversity, has become a key policy issue. This report provides a roadmap for federal, state, and local leaders who are developing plans to enhance community resilience for health security threats and describes options for building community resilience in key areas.
The Louisiana Disaster Case Management Pilot was funded to help people still affected by the 2005 hurricanes access needed services and more permanent housing. This report describes the challenges that hindered implementation. In light of these challenges, researchers recommend that future efforts establish better ways to identify and locate affected residents, consider needs and vulnerabilities in planning, and ensure continuity of services.
Stakeholders in communities in which health care access was disrupted by Hurricane Katrina were engaged in an assessment of health priorities, as well as in data interpretation and plan design, to produce a sustainable community-academic partnership.
The Displaced New Orleans Residents Pilot Study shows that it is possible to study this hard-to-survey population to determine rates of return and mental illness among residents who experienced Hurricane Katrina and its aftermath.
Human recovery is the process of rebuilding social and daily routines and support networks that foster physical and mental health and well-being. RAND researchers conducted a facilitated discussion with Louisiana NGO leaders to capture lessons learned and challenges faced by these organizations in the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina. The subsequent lessons also serve to inform potential policy changes and future research directions.
Concerns about mental health recovery persist after the 2005 Gulf storms. The authors propose a recovery model and estimate costs and outcomes.
Collects and synthesizes the public health lessons learned from the response to Hurricane Katrina so that public health agencies can learn from the experience and improve their preparedness.
This fact sheet summarizes a program guide, or tool kit, that describes a variety of school-based mental health programs for students exposed to trauma, such as Hurricane Katrina and other natural disasters, and community or personal violence.
This tool kit describes how trauma exposure impacts students’ performance and behavior and provides a compendium of programs for schools to support the long-term recovery of traumatized students. It also compares the programs with one another.
In November 2005, New Orleans city leaders asked RAND to estimate the repopulation of the city in the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina. The Bring New Orleans Back Commission needed estimates of the city’s population in the immediate and near-term future to guide the redevelopment planning process. An assessment of flood damage to housing based on the depth of floodwater and the likely pace of reconstruction of damaged housing guided the estimates.
Key Findings: - Mitigating the destructive impact of hurricane force winds will require developing and implementing new building codes. - Mitigating the impact of floods will require site-specific investments in infrastructure and planning. - California provides the best example of “lessons learned” from an aggressive policy to protect hospitals from the effects of natural disasters.
