The Vietnamese Community Members Who Were Part of GC-HARMS Are More Aware of Their Health, Environmental Impacts on Their Health, and How They Can Have Better Health: An Interview With Dustin Nguyen

Author(s):  
John Sullivan ◽  
Beth Rosenberg

In this interview, Mr. Nguyen, Gulf Coast Health Alliance: Health risks related to the Macondo Spill Vietnamese community project hub manager (D’Iberville, Mississippi), describes his community’s cultural and financial difficulties finding adequate avenues for healthcare and wellness information before the Deepwater Horizon oil spill. He comments extensively on how the project’s clinical component in tandem with the Affordable Care Act promoted transformational changes in access to healthcare for his community and comments on generational shifts within the community in terms of language marginalization, its relationship to the pace of acculturation, and the allure of commercial fishing as a livelihood and a career.

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Zachary Goldman ◽  
John A. Kaufman ◽  
J. Danielle Sharpe ◽  
Amy F. Wolkin ◽  
Matthew O. Gribble

Introduction: In April 2010, a fatal explosion on the Deepwater Horizon drilling rig in the Gulf of Mexico resulted in the largest accidental marine oil spill in history. This research describes the association of oil exposure with anxiety after the Deepwater Horizon oil spill and evaluates effect modification by self-mastery, emotional support, and cleanup participation. Methods: To assess the impacts of the Deepwater Horizon oil spill, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention conducted the Gulf States Population Survey, a random-digit-dial telephone cross-sectional survey completed between December 2010 and December 2011 with 38,361 responses in four different Gulf Coast states­: Louisiana, Florida, Alabama, and Mississippi. Anxiety severity was measured using the Generalized Anxiety Disorder symptom inventory. We used Tobit regression to model underlying anxiety as a function of oil exposure and hypothesized effect modifiers, adjusting for socio-demographics. Results: Latent anxiety was higher among those directly exposed to oil than among those who were not directly exposed to oil in confounder-adjusted models (β=2.84, 95% CI: 0.78, 4.91). Among individuals exposed to oil, there was no significant interaction between participating in cleanup activities and emotional support for anxiety ( P=0.16). However, among those directly exposed to oil, in confounder-adjusted models, participation in oil spill cleanup activities was associated with lower latent anxiety (β=-3.50, 95% CI: -6.10, -0.90). Conclusion: Oil contact was associated with greater anxiety, but this association appeared to be mitigated by cleanup participation.


Author(s):  
Daniel Jackson ◽  
Meng Huang ◽  
Harshica Fernando ◽  
Ghulam Ansari ◽  
Marilyn Howarth ◽  
...  

This article provides a description of the rationale and processes adopted by the Gulf Coast Health Alliance: Health Risks related to the Macondo Spill consortium to evaluate and communicate the risk of exposure to polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) in seafood over several years following the Deepwater Horizon disaster and subsequent oil spill. We examined gaps in knowledge associated with PAH toxicity following exposure to petrogenic (oil-derived) PAHs by studying the metabolic fate of PAHs and their potential toxicity using sophisticated analytical methods. Using the data generated, we developed a risk communication strategy designed to meet the needs of the stakeholder communities including a consumption guideline calculator, a web-based tool to reconcile seafood consumption with risk of adverse health effects.


2011 ◽  
Vol 15 (12) ◽  
pp. 3639-3649 ◽  
Author(s):  
J. S. Hayworth ◽  
T. P. Clement ◽  
J. F. Valentine

Abstract. From mid June 2010 to early August 2010, the white sandy beaches along Alabama's Gulf coast were inundated with crude oil discharged from the Deepwater Horizon well. The long-term consequences of this environmental catastrophe are still unfolding. Although BP has attempted to clean up some of these beaches, there still exist many unanswered questions regarding the physical, chemical, and ecological state of the oil contaminated beach system. In this paper, we present our understanding of what is known and known to be unknown with regard to the current state of Alabama's beaches in the aftermath of the Deepwater Horizon disaster. Motivated by our observations of the evolving distribution of oil in Alabama's beaches and BP's clean-up activities, we offer our thoughts on the lessons learned from this oil spill disaster.


2019 ◽  
Vol 8 (3) ◽  
pp. 74
Author(s):  
Megha Patel ◽  
Leia Saltzman ◽  
Regardt Ferreira ◽  
Amy Lesen

The authors wish to make the following change to their paper (Patel et al. 2018). [...]


Shore & Beach ◽  
2020 ◽  
pp. 38-48
Author(s):  
Syed Khalil ◽  
Gregory Grandy ◽  
Richard Raynie

Louisiana has a long history of coastal management and restoration actions with multiple projects implementing common approaches. Traditionally, most of the restoration efforts have been ongoing in Louisiana by state and federal agencies through the Coastal Wetlands Planning, Protection and Restoration Act (CWPPRA). These activities are now being expanded significantly through additional funding and implementing entities such as the Resources and Ecosystems Sustainability, Tourist Opportunities, and Revived Economies of the Gulf Coast States (RESTORE) Act of 2012 Council, National Resource and Damage Assessment (NRDA) through the Louisiana Trustee Implementation Group (LA TIG), and the National Fish and Wildlife Foundation (NFWF). Considering a broader ecosystem or landscape context for implemented restoration projects can provide a framework for emphasizing commonality of restoration goals. Such a framework allows for multiple benefits of restoration efforts to be quantified, including prioritized natural resources, ultimately assessing the effectiveness of large-scale restoration efforts in coastal Louisiana. Three disasters have completely changed the trajectory of Louisiana’s coastal resto- ration and protection program. Hurricanes Katrina and Rita (2005) compelled the state to take serious note of the vagaries of nature, especially high-energy events like hurricanes, and to develop a comprehensive/robust coastal protection and restoration plan. Five years later, the Deepwater Horizon (DWH) oil spill exposed the fragility of the Louisiana coast but at the same time penalty monies provided much needed funding to implement the state’s coastal protection and restoration plans. This paper provides a high-level assessment of project implementation and makes the case that Louisiana could move quickly in the implementation of various restoration plans because robust and comprehensive restoration plans were previously developed and are available. Here, it must be appreciated that for the first time, dedicated funding is available not only for regional programmatic monitoring to implement adaptive management, but also for development of the art and science of restoration. It is also suggested that for efficient and cost effective implementation of Louisiana’s Coastal Master Plan federal agencies must work in tandem with the state/CPRA who not only bring the most comprehensive plan but expertise along with institutional knowledge to the table.


2017 ◽  
Vol 12 (2) ◽  
pp. 241-248 ◽  
Author(s):  
Joohee Lee ◽  
Bret J. Blackmon ◽  
David M. Cochran ◽  
Bandana Kar ◽  
Timothy A. Rehner ◽  
...  

AbstractObjectiveThis study examined the role of community resilience and psychological resilience on depressive symptoms in areas on the Mississippi Gulf Coast that have experienced multiple disasters.MethodsSurvey administration took place in the spring of 2015 to a spatially stratified, random sample of households. This analysis included a total of 294 subjects who lived in 1 of the 3 counties of the Mississippi Gulf Coast at the time of both Hurricane Katrina in 2005 and the Deepwater Horizon oil spill in 2010. The survey included the Communities Advancing Resilience Toolkit (CART) scale, the Connor-Davidson Resilience Scale (CD-RISC 10), and the Center for Epidemiologic Studies Depression Scale (CES-D).ResultsThere was a significant inverse relationship between psychological resilience and depressive symptoms and a significant positive relationship between community resilience and psychological resilience. The results also revealed that community resilience was indirectly related to depressive symptoms through the mediating variable of psychological resilience.ConclusionsThese findings highlight the importance of psychological resilience in long-term disaster recovery and imply that long-term recovery efforts should address factors associated with both psychological and community resilience to improve mental health outcomes. (Disaster Med Public Health Preparedness. 2018;12:241–248)


2012 ◽  
Vol 27 (5) ◽  
pp. 401-408 ◽  
Author(s):  
Danielle Buttke ◽  
Sara Vagi ◽  
Tesfaye Bayleyegn ◽  
Kanta Sircar ◽  
Tara Strine ◽  
...  

AbstractIntroductionPrevious oil spills and disasters from other human-made events have shown that mental health effects to the affected population are widespread and can be significant.Hypothesis/ProblemThere has been concern regarding the likelihood that existing public health surveillance was not capturing the mental health effects to the population affected by the Gulf Coast oil spill. The objectives of this study were to assess the mental health needs of coastal communities in the states of Alabama and Mississippi following the Deepwater Horizon oil spill.MethodsA cluster sampling methodology was used to assess the mental health status of coastal residents in three counties in Alabama four months following the 2010 Deepwater Horizon oil spill, and in the Gulf Coast counties in Mississippi 5.5 months after the oil spill.ResultsA total of 469 residents of the selected areas were interviewed. Between 15.4 and 24.5% of the respondents reported depressive symptoms, with 21.4-31.5% reporting symptoms consistent with an anxiety disorder, and 16.3-22.8% reporting ≥14 mentally unhealthy days within the past 30 days. Overall, there were more negative quality of life indicators and negative social context outcomes than in the state's Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System (BRFSS) survey. Between 32.1% and 35.7% of all households reported decreased income since the oil spill, and 35.5-38.2% of all households reported having been exposed to oil.ConclusionThe proportion of respondents reporting negative mental health parameters in the affected Alabama and Mississippi coastal communities is higher than the proportion reported in the 2008 and 2009 BRFSS state reports, suggesting that the public health response to the Deepwater Horizon oil spill should focus on mental health services in these communities.ButtkeD, VagiS, BayleyegnT, SircarK, StrineT, MorrisonM, AllenM, WolkinA. Mental health needs assessment after the Gulf Coast oil spill—Alabama and Mississippi, 2010. Prehosp Disaster Med.2012;27(5):1-8.


Sign in / Sign up

Export Citation Format

Share Document