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Child Mortality After Hurricane Katrina

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  08 April 2013

Robert K. Kanter
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Abstract

Background: Age-specific pediatric health consequences of community disruption after Hurricane Katrina have not been analyzed. Post-Katrina vital statistics are unavailable. The objectives of this study were to validate an alternative method to estimate child mortality rates in the greater New Orleans area and compare pre-Katrina and post-Katrina mortality rates.

Methods: Pre-Katrina 2004 child mortality was estimated from death reports in the local daily newspaper and validated by comparison with pre-Katrina data from the Louisiana Department of Health. Post-Katrina child mortality rates were analyzed as a measure of health consequences.

Results: Newspaper-derived estimates of mortality rates appear to be valid except for possible underreporting of neonatal rates. Pre-Katrina and post-Katrina mortality rates were similar for all age groups except infants. Post-Katrina, a 92% decline in mortality rate occurred for neonates (<28 days), and a 57% decline in mortality rate occurred for postneonatal infants (28 days–1 year). The post-Katrina decline in infant mortality rate exceeds the pre-Katrina discrepancy between newspaper-derived and Department of Health–reported rates.

Conclusions: A declining infant mortality rate raises questions about persistent displacement of high-risk infants out of the region. Otherwise, there is no evidence of long-lasting post-Katrina excess child mortality. Further investigation of demographic changes would be of interest to local decision makers and planners for recovery after public health emergencies in other regions.

(Disaster Med Public Health Preparedness. 2010;4:62-65)

Keywords

community disruptiondisaster demographicsindirect health effectsdisaster recoveryepidemiologypopulation displacementresilience
Type
Original Articles
Information
Disaster Medicine and Public Health Preparedness , Volume 4 , Issue 1 , March 2010 , pp. 62 - 65
Copyright
Copyright © Society for Disaster Medicine and Public Health, Inc. 2010

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