scholarly journals Social Vulnerability across the Great Lakes Basin: A County-Level Comparative and Spatial Analysis

2021 ◽  
Vol 13 (13) ◽  
pp. 7274
Author(s):  
Joshua T. Fergen ◽  
Ryan D. Bergstrom
Keyword(s):  
Great Lakes ◽  
Spatial Patterns ◽  
Social Vulnerability ◽  
Vulnerability Index ◽  
Social Vulnerability Index ◽  
Great Lakes Basin ◽  
Empirical Examination ◽  
Regional Patterns ◽  
Urban Rural ◽  
Social Vulnerabilities

Social vulnerability refers to how social positions affect the ability to access resources during a disaster or disturbance, but there is limited empirical examination of its spatial patterns in the Great Lakes Basin (GLB) region of North America. In this study, we map four themes of social vulnerability for the GLB by using the Center for Disease Control’s Social Vulnerability Index (CDC SVI) for every county in the basin and compare mean scores for each sub-basin to assess inter-basin differences. Additionally, we map LISA results to identify clusters of high and low social vulnerability along with the outliers across the region. Results show the spatial patterns depend on the social vulnerability theme selected, with some overlapping clusters of high vulnerability existing in Northern and Central Michigan, and clusters of low vulnerability in Eastern Wisconsin along with outliers across the basins. Differences in these patterns also indicate the existence of an urban–rural dimension to the variance in social vulnerabilities measured in this study. Understanding regional patterns of social vulnerability help identify the most vulnerable people, and this paper presents a framework for policymakers and researchers to address the unique social vulnerabilities across heterogeneous regions.

scholarly journals Applying the Social Vulnerability Index as a Leading Indicator to Protect Fire-Based Emergency Medical Service Responders’ Health

2021 ◽  
Vol 18 (15) ◽  
pp. 8049
Author(s):  
Emily J. Haas ◽  
Alexa Furek ◽  
Megan Casey ◽  
Katherine N. Yoon ◽  
Susan M. Moore
Keyword(s):  
Emergency Response ◽  
Social Vulnerability ◽  
Vulnerability Index ◽  
Fire Service ◽  
Household Composition ◽  
Fire Departments ◽  
Social Vulnerability Index ◽  
Response Planning ◽  
Leading Indicator ◽  
Increased Risk

During emergencies, areas with higher social vulnerability experience an increased risk for negative health outcomes. However, research has not extrapolated this concept to understand how the workers who respond to these areas may be affected. Researchers from the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH) merged approximately 160,000 emergency response calls received from three fire departments during the COVID-19 pandemic with the CDC’s publicly available Social Vulnerability Index (SVI) to examine the utility of SVI as a leading indicator of occupational health and safety risks. Multiple regressions, binomial logit models, and relative weights analyses were used to answer the research questions. Researchers found that higher social vulnerability on household composition, minority/language, and housing/transportation increase the risk of first responders’ exposure to SARS-CoV-2. Higher socioeconomic, household, and minority vulnerability were significantly associated with response calls that required emergency treatment and transport in comparison to fire-related or other calls that are also managed by fire departments. These results have implications for more strategic emergency response planning during the COVID-19 pandemic, as well as improving Total Worker Health® and future of work initiatives at the worker and workplace levels within the fire service industry.

scholarly journals Effectiveness of mass treatment of Schistosoma mansoni infection in socially vulnerable areas of a state in northeastern Brazil, 2011–2014

2021 ◽  
Vol 79 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Flávia Silvestre Outtes Wanderley ◽  
Ulisses Montarroyos ◽  
Cristine Bonfim ◽  
Carolina Cunha-Correia
Keyword(s):  
Schistosoma Mansoni ◽  
Correspondence Analysis ◽  
Social Vulnerability ◽  
Multiple Correspondence Analysis ◽  
Vulnerability Index ◽  
Two Dimensions ◽  
Northeastern Brazil ◽  
Mass Treatment ◽  
Social Vulnerability Index ◽  
Treatment Information

Abstract Background To assess the effectiveness of mass treatment of Schistosoma mansoni infection in socially vulnerable endemic areas in northeastern Brazil. Method An ecological study was conducted, in which 118 localities in 30 municipalities in the state of Pernambuco were screened before 2011 and in 2014 (after mass treatment). Information on the endemic baseline index, mass treatment coverage, socio-environmental conditions and social vulnerability index were used in the multiple correspondence analysis. One hundred fourteen thousand nine hundred eighty-seven people in 118 locations were examined. Results The first two dimensions of the multiple correspondence analysis represented 55.3% of the variability between locations. The human capital component of the social vulnerability index showed an association with the baseline endemicity index. There was a significant reduction in positivity for schistosomes. For two rounds, for every extra 1% of initial endemicity index, the fixed effect of 13.62% increased by 0.0003%, achieving at most 15.94%. Conclusions The mass treatment intervention helped to reduce transmission of schistosomiasis in areas of high endemicity. Thus, it can be recommended that application of mass treatment should be accompanied by other control actions, such as basic sanitation, monitoring of intermediate vectors and case surveillance.

Impact of Social Vulnerability on Access to Educational Programming Designed to Enhance Living Donation

2021 ◽  
pp. 152692482110460
Author(s):  
Alexis J. Carter ◽  
Rhiannon D. Reed ◽  
A. Cozette Kale ◽  
Haiyan Qu ◽  
Vineeta Kumar ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Health Care ◽  
Social Vulnerability ◽  
Living Donor ◽  
Research Question ◽  
College Education ◽  
Vulnerability Index ◽  
Social Vulnerability Index ◽  
Chi Square ◽  
Control And Prevention ◽  
Transplant Candidate

Introduction Transplant candidate participation in the Living Donor Navigator Program is associated with an increased likelihood of achieving living donor kidney transplantation; yet not every transplant candidate participates in navigator programming. Research Question We sought to assess interest and ability to participate in the Living Donor Navigator Program by the degree of social vulnerability. Design Eighty-two adult kidney-only candidates initiating evaluation at our center provided Likert-scaled responses to survey questions on interest and ability to participate in the Living Donor Navigator Program. Surveys were linked at the participant-level to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention Social Vulnerability Index and county health rankings and overall social vulnerability and subthemes, individual barriers, telehealth capabilities/ knowledge, interest, and ability to participate were assessed utilizing nonparametric Wilcoxon ranks sums tests, chi-square, and Fisher's exact tests. Results Participants indicating distance as a barrier to participation in navigator programming lived approximately 82 miles farther from our center. Disinterested participants lived in areas with the highest social vulnerability, higher physical inactivity rates, lower college education rates, and higher uninsurance (lack of insurance) and unemployment rates. Similarly, participants without a computer, who never heard of telehealth, and who were not encouraged to participate in telehealth resided in areas of highest social vulnerability. Conclusion These data suggest geography combined with being from under-resourced areas with high social vulnerability was negatively associated with health care engagement. Geography and poverty may be surrogates for lower health literacy and fewer health care interactions.

Creation of a social vulnerability index for justice in health planning

1988 ◽  
Vol 10 (4) ◽  
pp. 23-32 ◽  
Author(s):  
G E Alan Dever ◽  
Mark Sciegaj ◽  
Thomas E. Wade ◽  
Teresa C. Lofton
Keyword(s):  
Social Vulnerability ◽  
Health Planning ◽  
Vulnerability Index ◽  
Social Vulnerability Index

scholarly journals ¿Somos todos iguales ante una inundación? Análisis de la vulnerabilidad social en el litoral mediterráneo español

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Alfredo Pérez Morales ◽  
Salvador Gil Guirado ◽  
Aarón Quesada García
Keyword(s):  
Social Vulnerability ◽  
Vulnerability Index ◽  
Social Vulnerability Index ◽  
La Red

En España, las inundaciones representan el peligro con origen en la naturaleza que mayores pérdidas ocasiona, tanto económicas como humanas. Entendido el riesgo como una construcción social, la evaluación de la vulnerabilidad, resulta crucial para mejorar la adaptación de la población expuesta. Entre los métodos empleados para llevar a cabo esas evaluaciones está el uso de índices. En el presente estudio empleamos una réplica del SOVI® (Social Vulnerability Index), uno de los más ampliamente utilizados a nivel mundial y cuya integración se ha puesto en práctica en un área de especial sensibilidad ante las inundaciones, el litoral mediterráneo de la Región de Murcia y la Comunidad Valenciana (España). Los resultados obtenidos evidencian una mayor vulnerabilidad social en secciones censales no inundables que en las inundables y pone de manifiesto un patrón de desigualdad social en ámbitos donde la red hidrográfica presenta un funcionamiento efímero y súbito como las ramblas.  

scholarly journals An Assessment of Social and Physical Vulnerability to Hydroclimate Extremes in Appalachia

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Leah R. Handwerger ◽  
Jennifer R. Runkle ◽  
Ronald Leeper ◽  
Elizabeth Shay ◽  
Kara Dempsey ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Social Vulnerability ◽  
Scientific Community ◽  
Vulnerability Index ◽  
Precipitation Variability ◽  
Mitigation Strategies ◽  
Climate Projections ◽  
Social Vulnerability Index ◽  
Physical Vulnerability ◽  
Vulnerable Communities ◽  
Vulnerability Indicators

Abstract Appalachia is a cultural region in the southern and central Appalachian Mountains that lags behind the nation in several social vulnerability indicators. Climate projections over this region indicate that precipitation variability will increase in both severity and frequency in future decades, suggesting that the occurrence of natural hazards related to hydroclimate extremes will also increase. The objective of this study was to investigate the spatiotemporal patterns of drought and precipitation and determine how trends overlap with vulnerable communities across Appalachia. The study utilized trend analysis through Mann-Kendall calculations and a Social Vulnerability Index, resulting in a bivariate map that displays areas most susceptible to adverse effects from hydroclimate extremes. Results show the southwestern portion of the region as most vulnerable to increased precipitation, and the central-southeast most vulnerable to an increase in drought-precipitation variability. This study is among the first to utilize the boundaries defined by the Appalachian Regional Commission from a climatological perspective, allowing findings to reach audiences outside the scientific community and bring more effective mitigation strategies that span from the local to federal levels.

scholarly journals The Relationship Between Social Vulnerability and COVID-19 Incidence Among Louisiana Census Tracts

2021 ◽  
Vol 8 ◽  
Author(s):  
Erin N. Biggs ◽  
Patrick M. Maloney ◽  
Ariane L. Rung ◽  
Edward S. Peters ◽  
William T. Robinson
Keyword(s):  
Population Density ◽  
Social Vulnerability ◽  
Negative Binomial ◽  
Negative Binomial Regression ◽  
Vulnerability Index ◽  
Social Vulnerability Index ◽  
Census Tracts ◽  
Control And Prevention ◽  
Choropleth Maps ◽  
The Relationship

Objective: To examine the association between the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC)'s Social Vulnerability Index (SVI) and COVID-19 incidence among Louisiana census tracts.Methods: An ecological study comparing the CDC SVI and census tract-level COVID-19 case counts was conducted. Choropleth maps were used to identify census tracts with high levels of both social vulnerability and COVID-19 incidence. Negative binomial regression with random intercepts was used to compare the relationship between overall CDC SVI percentile and its four sub-themes and COVID-19 incidence, adjusting for population density.Results: In a crude stratified analysis, all four CDC SVI sub-themes were significantly associated with COVID-19 incidence. Census tracts with higher levels of social vulnerability were associated with higher COVID-19 incidence after adjusting for population density (adjusted RR: 1.52, 95% CI: 1.41-1.65).Conclusions: The results of this study indicate that increased social vulnerability is linked with COVID-19 incidence. Additional resources should be allocated to areas of increased social disadvantage to reduce the incidence of COVID-19 in vulnerable populations.

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