Emergency health in the aftermath of disasters: a post-Hurricane Matthew skin outbreak in rural Haiti
Disaster Prevention and Management
ISSN: 0965-3562
Article publication date: 4 March 2022
Issue publication date: 9 August 2022
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to analyze the context of the emergence of a skin infection outbreak in the aftermath of Hurricane Matthew in Haiti and detail the role of community-based participatory research in mobilizing local action in a country with low state capacity.
Design/methodology/approach
While implementing a post-disaster study that combined a survey of 984 households and 69 community leaders with 23 focus groups, 60 ethnographic interviews and community mapping, a skin infection outbreak was detected. Using study results, the research team in partnership with different stakeholders responded to the outbreak with a health intervention.
Findings
The findings illustrate how pre-existing conditions shape local communities' vulnerability to health crises in the aftermath of disasters and the critical role research can play in informing the recovery processes. Community-based approaches to emergency health reinforced by multi-stakeholder partnerships with local government can strengthen post-disaster response and governance structures setting the groundwork for the development of local resilience.
Research limitations/implications
The health intervention was implemented as a result of the study. Patients served were not derived from the study sample but were self-selected based on their need for skin-related medical treatment.
Originality/value
This article highlights the integral role research can play in identifying the health impacts of disaster events in vulnerable, hard-to-reach communities and strengthening government involvement in disaster governance.
Keywords
Acknowledgements
The authors thank the study's funders: Center for Haitian Studies, Project Medishare and the Interuniversity Institute for Research and Development, with special acknowledgement of the latter two organizations for their financial and in-kind contributions to the intervention. A special thanks to the University of Miami's Institute for Advanced Study of the Americas and Dr. Sallie Hughes, Professor Sanjeev Chatterjee and Mr. Gonzalo Mejia of the School of Communication. A heartfelt thanks to the volunteer health workers, medical students and the Haitian Red Cross for the care provided to the local population. The authors’ deepest gratitude to the Mayor's Office and residents of Chambellan for their collaboration throughout. Finally, the authors are grateful for April Mann's editing assistance and the anonymous reviewers' constructive feedback.
Citation
Cela, T., Marcelin, L.H., Fleurantin, N.L. and Jean Louis, S. (2022), "Emergency health in the aftermath of disasters: a post-Hurricane Matthew skin outbreak in rural Haiti", Disaster Prevention and Management, Vol. 31 No. 4, pp. 398-410. https://doi.org/10.1108/DPM-04-2021-0121
Publisher
:Emerald Publishing Limited
Copyright © 2022, Emerald Publishing Limited