Health Impact of Contaminants Caused by Hurricane Katrina in Louisiana - Research Paper Example

? HURRICANE KATRINA HEALTH IMPACT IN LOUISIANA 31st, October, Table of Contents Table of Contents 2 Health Impact of Contaminants Caused by Hurricane Katrina in Louisiana 3 Background 3 Introduction 3 Statement of the Problem 3 Research Objectives 4 Importance of the Study 4 Research Hypothesis 5 Scope and Justification of the Study 5 Geographical Scope 6 Limitation of the Research 6 Literature Review 6 Methodology 8 Research Design 8 Target Population 9 Sampling Design 9 Data Collection 9 Data Analysis and Techniques 9 Data Analysis and Presentation 10 Summary and Conclusion 12 References 14 Health Impact of Contaminants Caused by Hurricane Katrina in Louisiana Background Hurricane Katrina touched the main gulf coast of Louisiana on 29 august 2005 and within a few or several hours, it was pronounced the biggest natural disaster in the history of the United States. According to Stephen Johnson, an administrator with the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) the hurricane made great unprecedented devastation, which had adverse effects on the people of the neighboring coastlines such as Mississippi, Alabama, and Louisiana. Moreover, inside the countryside to an extent of 150 miles, significant devastation was witnessed from the hurricane that could be seen many weeks after the disaster (Palser, 2007). Introduction Hurricane Katrina was the most destructive and deadliest hurricane to be reported in the United States in the modern history. The hurricane struck on the coastline on august 2005 causing devastating health problems to the people of Louisiana and their neighboring vicinities. Various health problems arose out of the hurricane. This hurricane is said to be the costliest and the one of the five deadliest Atlantic hurricanes in the history of USA. From the hurricane, at least 1833 people succumbed to injuries from the debris and suspended floods caused by the hurricane. The estimated total cost of the hurricane is $81billion as of 2005, nearly three times more than that of hurricane Andrew in 1992 (Rodger, 2006). Statement of the Problem Hurricane Katrina caused many damages to the people of Louisiana especially in the health sector. Many people contracted diseases or were infected with different diseases caused by the hurricane. Hurricane Katrina covered three states and just about 90,000 square miles. In the state of Louisiana alone, roughly 1.7 million persons were affected by the hurricane and required to be expatriated. The state of Louisiana expatriated roughly 1.5 million individuals beforehand Hurricane Katrina made its arrival. However, about 150,000 to 200,000 persons persisted during the storm. While many people opted to stay, others did not have a chance to evacuate because of unobtainable funds. For the duration of pre- and post-storm emigration, the government set up exceptional needs housings for those with homoeopathic needs and instigated triaging roughly 30,000 to 40,000 people. Of tis people, most of them had similar characteristics of the diseases and suffered from similar ailments. This research therefore seeks to establish the extent of human exposure to environmental contaminants as an environmental health issue with regard to hurricane Katrina in Louisiana. Research Objectives The objective of this research is to identify the health problems that arose from the hurricane and persist to present day. Moreover, the research seeks to identify the core or fundamental environmental health issues to be addressed caused by the hurricane. The research also seeks to identify which agencies and organizations at the state, national, or local level are accountable for, or intricate in, the various environmental health issues. Moreover, the research will seek to determine what development has been made and what challenges are present. Importance of the Study The purpose of this researches it to outline the environmental health issues that have affected the people of Louisiana caused by the hurricane Katrina. The research will also provide important information about the trend of diseases and the risk factors caused by the hurricane Katrina. The information obtained in this research can be used in health care interventions, functional abilities, arrays of care, and health care costs and use. The information will also provide important information on the about the efficacy and adverse effects of medical intrusions by regulating the variables that could influence the outcomes of the study, but response from other world hurricane experience is also decisive for comparing and improving the future responses to hurricanes. Research Hypothesis 1. Was there a complex array of environmental health problems that existed prior to hurricane Katrina in Louisiana? 2. What are the diseases that resulted from the hurricane Katrina in Louisiana? 3. What are the health care challenges that affected the people of Louisiana after the hurricane Katrina? 4. Is there any relationship between the challenges affecting the people of Louisiana prior to and after the hurricane Katrina? Scope and Justification of the Study The research will take into consideration previous data from research and health institutions from the period beginning prior to the hurricane to the period after the hurricane that caused the various health concerns. The research will focus on the health environmental health problems caused by the hurricane Katrina and how the people as well as the federal government have gone ahead to solve this health concerns. Other scholars can use the findings of this research study as a basis for further research work in this field. The study will help the public realize how they can improve in case another hurricane strikes. Moreover, the research will benefit other medical research projects to establish the best results for the treatment of other future environmental diseases that can be caused by a future hurricane. To the victims of the hurricane, the research will be important to them to know their exact needs and benefits they can claim from medical schemes and insurance institutions, which they had insured themselves. The research will also help create awareness of the possible solutions to similar future calamities. Geographical Scope The research will cover environmental health problems caused by the hurricane Katrina in Louisiana with emphasis on the resultant diseases and their possible cures. This research will also focus on the disaster preparedness by the federal government, the state government of New Orleans, and the disaster preparedness of the people of Louisiana. Limitation of the Research The research is limited by the time factor. This is because it is being carried out long after the hurricane struck and most of the victims have returned to their normal lives. However, the health impact is still present. Literature Review Hurricane Katrina made an unprecedented landfall in Louisiana on august 29 2005 causing major damage of people’s property and health. The total estimated value of the loss has since then risen to $81 billion with the exclusion of medical expenses. The disaster was also a test to the medical aid practitioners who had never given aid to any such disaster victims before. This meant that medical aid and human aid from outside the affected area was needed to restore the area to parity ( Levitt & Whitaker, 2009). According to an independent researcher from John Hopkins University, the first responders deserve a lot of praise. However, the extent of their assistance was minimal as compared to the extent the disaster had struck. This is because more help from outside Louisiana was required and many medical practitioners needed (U.S. Census Bureau, 2005a). A wide range of environmental health issues prevailed after the aftermath of the hurricane. This raised public health concerns, which are important to the government and the people themselves. During the hurricane, some immediate action had to be taken to identify and address the life threatening environmental hazard. Some of the medium term decisions included controlling the hazard so that people could renter the city. Long-term concerns on the environmental health issue include ensuring environmental health in reconstruction (Fussel, 2006). Workers are the most common denominator when all disaster strikes, whether natural disasters, accidents, or terrorist activities. Workers are the first people to go to the scene of these accidents to perform rescue mission and recovery operations. Throughout the reverberation of Hurricane Katrina, providing work-related safety and health services was a task because of the steady influx into the region of recognized and unrecognized workers due to work availability (Fradin & Fradin, 2009). One of the largest posts Katrina challenges for National Institute of Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH) was that most of the workers who went into the area were doing work that was not related to their field of expertise. The approach needed in this case was different to the approach provided by most of the voluntary workers (Reed & Theiss, 2005). This is because it required understanding of medical knowledge than the physical work required. However, the physical workers were also needed to liaise with the fire brigade to provide humanitarian aid. Such work available for the physical workers included levee infrastructure, debris removal, and industrial reconstruction over and above environmental cleanup. The National Institute of Occupational Safety and Health, NIOSH, was more concerned about the workers acquaintance to the residue, mold, heat, noise, and other environmental harms (Palser, 2007). There is need for coordinated efforts and prioritizing health care risks. However, they become challenging when a comparatively rapid response is required but there is practically no time to get ready for it. This was the case with hurricane Katrina, which happened in a disaster area covering more than 90,000 square miles. This created community-wide and regional issues mostly basing themselves on the resultant environmental health issue (U.S. Census Bureau, 2005b). The research community has collected a widespread research databank on medical principles for patients for suffered after the hurricane Katrina. However, not all this principles are transferable to all community-based research ( Levitt & Whitaker, 2009). During a disaster, the first task to respond to immediately is the emergent needs of the people in the affected area. However, people should always be prepared to address risks as they unfold. Moreover, when responding to a disaster, a resolve requires to be made whether the precedence should be prearranged to severe health conditions or to long-term health magnitudes of exposure. There are many nonentities concerning the magnitude of environmental exposures in any disaster such as the hurricane Katrina (Fradin & Fradin, 2009). Methodology In this chapter, I have explained the details of the methods I have used in gathering of data, an outline of the various stages that the researcher went through to obtain and explain the information. In this chapter, I have also explained the research design, the target population, the sample design, the methods used for data collection, and data analysis techniques. Research Design In this research paper, I used quantitative survey whereby I collected data concerning human exposure to environmental contaminants as an environmental health issue with regard to hurricane Katrina in Louisiana. The survey comprised a thorough understanding of human exposure to environmental contaminants and its effects to the people of Louisiana. The research relied on secondary data. However, analysis of the data was done in light of impact of the hurricane on births in Louisiana. Target Population The target population in the research was the people of Louisiana who were affected by the hurricane Katrina and the disaster preparedness of the people and the federal institutions. The reason for choosing such a population is that the population was to include people who were familiar with the disaster preparedness. Sampling Design Simple random technique was used to select the sample size people who were affected by the hurricane due to exposure of the contaminants that resulted to diseases and even death. This technique was used because every member had an equal chance of being selected. The sampling was done without replacement so that so that no person can appear more than once in a sample. Data Collection The data in this research was obtained from other previous records by the federal government, independent researchers, and affiliate researchers. Data Analysis and Techniques The data gathered was edited and analyzed to remove inconsistences to ascertain whether the information was complete and adequate. The data was presented in a written description and presented in form of tables captured in Microsoft word and graphs herein. Data Analysis and Presentation The research sought to establish the extent of human exposure to environmental contaminants as an environmental health issue with regard to hurricane Katrina in Louisiana. Moreover, the research also tests the level of disaster preparedness by the people, the federal government, and the state government of Louisiana. From the data above, we can learn that the number of births by month decreased after the hurricane stuck. This data covers 14 designated counties and parishes of Alabama, Louisiana, and Mississippi. All the respondents of this data were women. This means that the hurricane reduced the social coherence of the people through displacements created (Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA), 2005). From the data above, we can learn that the number of births by month decreased after the hurricane stuck. This data covers nine designated counties and parishes of Alabama, and Louisiana. All the respondents of this data were women. This means that the hurricane reduced the social coherence of the people through displacements created. We can also learn that the nine designated parishes were the hardest hit with the exceptions of the parishes in Mississippi (Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA), 2005). From the above diagram, we can learn that the number of births to teenagers increased in the i4 selected FEMA- designated counties and parishes of Alabama, Louisiana, and Mississippi for the twelve-month period before and after the hurricane Katrina (Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA), 2005). Summary and Conclusion This research contains data obtained from FEMA –designated counties and parishes that were affected by hurricane Katrina disaster for the 12 months period prior to and post the disaster. It gives demographic information and public health information for the changes that were experienced from the hurricane disaster. When the information is compared to previous trends before the disaster, it shows striking differences for some specific areas thus showing the impact of the disaster. It is important to note that two were limitations in assessing the effects of hurricane Katrina on the people of Louisiana. One of them is that just a few people were selected to represent the entire population. Secondly, there might have been an interference with the information obtained since it is a secondary source of data. References Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA). (2005). . FEMA–1603–DR, Louisiana, Disaster Declaration as of 10/07/2005. Washington: Federal Emergency Management Agency. Fradin, B. D., & Fradin, B. J. (2009). Hurricane Katrina. New York: Marshall Cavendish. Fussel, E., (2006). Latino immigrants in post-Katrina New Orleans. London: Oxford University Press. Hamilton, B., Sutton, P., Mathews, M., Martin, J & Ventura, S. (2009). The Effect of Hurricane Katrina: Births in the U.S. Gulf Coast Region, Before and After the Storm. National Vital Statistics Reports. Volume 58, Number 2. Levitt, J., & Whitaker, M. (2009). Hurricane Katrina: America's Unnatural Disaster. New York: U of Nebraska Press. Palser, B. (2007). Hurricane Katrina: Aftermath of Disaster. Boston: Capstone. Reed, J., & Theiss, M. (2005). Hurricane Katrina: Through The Eyes Of Storm Chasers. New York: Farcountry Press. Rodger, E. ( 2006). Hurricane Katrina. Boston: Crabtree Publishing Company. U.S. Census Bureau. (2005a). Census Bureau estimates nearly 10 million residents along Gulf Coast hit by Hurricane Katrina . U.S. Census Bureau, 1-20. U.S. Census Bureau. (2005b). Census Bureau estimates nearly 10 million residents along Gulf Coast hit by Hurricane Katrina . U.S. Census Bureau, 1-20. Read More