SURVIVING THE STORM: AN INTERSECTIONAL ANALYSIS OF HURRICANE KATRINA’S EFFECT ON LINGERING PHYSICAL AND MENTAL HEALTH DISPARITIES

Abstract

This three-paper dissertation used an intersectional analytical framework to examine disparities in physical health and mental health (respectively) for Hurricane Katrina survivors by race and gender. To do so, health outcomes for New Orleans residents who survived Hurricane Katrina were analyzed. Displaced New Orleans Resident Survey (DNORS) data was used to investigate if natural disasters exacerbate health disparities. In Chapter 2, eight waves of self-reported data from the nationally-representative Panel Study of Income Dynamics (PSID) were used to conduct a sensitivity analysis of self-reported diagnoses. This was done to determine if there are differences by race and sex in the accuracy of self-reports. Chapter 2's analysis indicates that the intersections of race and sex were not associated with reporting variability after accounting for proxy status and class related characteristics. In Chapters 3 and 4, we determine if significant increases to physical and mental health diagnosis vary by race and sex, following Hurricane Katrina. The main finding of Chapter 3 was that Black women were more likely to report negative physical health outcomes than their White or male counterparts, both before and after Hurricane Katrina. Chapter 4's main finding was that Black women were not more likely to report a diagnosis of negative emotional problem and depression post-Katrina when compared to their White or male counterparts. There were increased adverse mental health outcomes across all four race-sex groups.