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Online Program

324925
Post-disaster health-seeking behaviors among Vietnamese Americans


Monday, November 2, 2015 : 11:00 a.m. - 11:15 a.m.

Mengxi Zhang, MPH, Department of Global Health Systems and Development, Tulane University, New Orleans, LA
Mark VanLandingham, MPH, PhD, Department of Global Community Health and Behavioral Sciences, Tulane University, New Orleans, LA
Aiko Kaji, MPH, Department of Global Health Systems and Development, Tulane University, New Orleans, LA
Audio (mp3) recording Recorded Presentation (mp4)
Background/Significance: It is widely known that disasters negatively influence healthcare utilization by destroying medical facilities and stressing health systems. Post-disaster healthcare resiliency has been less studied. After healthcare resources in New Orleans East were damaged by Hurricane Katrina in 2005, the community did not have a clinic/hospital until August, 2008.

Objective/Purpose: Our principal objectives are to measure how disaster influences health-seeking behaviors and how these behaviors change once more after a new clinic is built in an immigrant community.

Methods: We employ panel data from the Katrina Impacts on Vietnamese-Americans (KATIVA NOLA) study, which includes working-age Vietnamese Americans living in New Orleans East. Participants were assessed in 2005 (just before Katrina), 2006, 2007, and 2010. Fixed effects models are applied to control unobserved time-invariant unobserved factors.

Results: After Hurricane Katrina, Vietnamese-Americans had a 67% deduction of receiving a routine physical exam (2006 vs. 2005; OR=0.33; P=0.069). The negative change was not significantly improved after building a community clinic (2010 vs. 2006). The frequency of medical practitioner visits did not change after the disaster (2006 vs. 2005). However, the re-opening of the clinic was associated with  an increased frequency of medical practitioners visit by more than threefold (2010 vs. 2006; OR=3.42; P=0.044).   

Discussion/Conclusions: In light of Hurricane Katrina’s effect on health-seeking behaviors and their subsequent changes after the building a community clinic, we conclude that disasters present both challenges and opportunities for delivering quality health care to underserved populations.

Learning Areas:

Epidemiology

Learning Objectives:
Evaluate how disaster influences health-seeking behaviors and how these behaviors change once more after a new clinic is built in an immigrant community.

Keyword(s): Health Care Access, Disasters

Presenting author's disclosure statement:

Qualified on the content I am responsible for because: During three years training of a PhD program, I have been working on migration and health on several projects.
Any relevant financial relationships? No

I agree to comply with the American Public Health Association Conflict of Interest and Commercial Support Guidelines, and to disclose to the participants any off-label or experimental uses of a commercial product or service discussed in my presentation.

Back to: 3136.0: Barriers and enablers promoting or impeding health among immigrants and refugees communities 1