Millions of people living in poverty in urban areas are forced to reside in disaster-prone areas, which can have detrimental effects on child nutrition and increase adult morbidity. However, little is known about the impact on mental health for those living in slums. To address this gap, a study was conducted to estimate the effects of flood disasters on the mental and physical health of poor adults and children in urban Indonesia using longitudinal datasets - the Indonesia Family Life Survey (IFLS) and the Revitalising Informal Settlements and their Environment (RISE) survey. The IFLS tested how exposure to floods affects physical health of adults and children as well as mental health of adults living below the poverty line. The RISE survey collected data twice per year from a sample of informal settlements in Makassar, Indonesia that experienced a major flood event in January 2019. Fixed-effects analysis showed that exposure to flooding has substantial negative impacts on physical health that mostly dissipate within 12 months of the shock; however, individuals beyond the poverty threshold report no significant changes in health status associated with flood exposure. Frequent sampling is essential for identifying immediate health effects. The study provides an improved understanding of morbidities experienced by populations most vulnerable to increased disaster occurrence due to climate change.
- Many poor people live in areas that are prone to disasters.
- This can make children sick and adults more likely to get sick.
- We don't know much about how living in these areas affects mental health.
- A study was done in Indonesia to see how floods affect the health of poor people using two surveys.
- The study found that flooding has a big impact on physical health, but not as much on mental health for those below the poverty line.
Definitions
- Poverty: when someone doesn't have enough money or resources to meet their basic needs like food, shelter, and clothing
- Disaster-prone: an area that is likely to experience natural disasters like floods or earthquakes
- Morbidity: the state of being sick or unhealthy
- Longitudinal datasets: information collected over a long period of time from the same group of people
- Informal settlements: neighborhoods where people build homes without permission from the government
- Exposure: being in contact with something harmful like floodwater
- Threshold: a limit or point at which something changes
The Impact of Flood Disasters on Mental and Physical Health in Urban Indonesia
Millions of people living in poverty are forced to reside in disaster-prone areas, which can have detrimental effects on child nutrition and increase adult morbidity. However, little is known about the impact on mental health for those living in slums. To address this gap, a study was conducted to estimate the effects of flood disasters on the mental and physical health of poor adults and children in urban Indonesia using longitudinal datasets - the Indonesia Family Life Survey (IFLS) and the Revitalising Informal Settlements and their Environment (RISE) survey.
Background
Climate change has caused an increase in extreme weather events such as floods, droughts, storms, heat waves etc., leading to increased vulnerability among populations residing in informal settlements or slums located near water bodies or low-lying areas. These communities are often characterized by inadequate infrastructure, overcrowding, limited access to basic services such as clean water and sanitation facilities; all these factors contribute to higher risk of disease transmission during flooding events. The impacts of floods can be particularly severe for vulnerable populations due to lack of resources needed for recovery from disasters.
Study Design
The IFLS tested how exposure to floods affects physical health of adults and children as well as mental health of adults living below the poverty line. The RISE survey collected data twice per year from a sample of informal settlements in Makassar, Indonesia that experienced a major flood event in January 2019. Fixed-effects analysis showed that exposure to flooding has substantial negative impacts on physical health that mostly dissipate within 12 months of the shock; however individuals beyond the poverty threshold report no significant changes in health status associated with flood exposure. Frequent sampling is essential for identifying immediate health effects.
Results
The results suggest that there is an association between flood exposure and poorer physical health outcomes among both adults and children living below the poverty line; however there were no significant changes observed among those above it suggesting that they may have better access to resources needed for recovery after disasters compared with those who live below it . In addition , frequent sampling was found essential for identifying immediate impacts on mental health following floods . This suggests that more research needs to be done into understanding how psychological distress is affected by natural disasters so appropriate interventions can be developed .
Conclusion
This study provides an improved understanding of morbidities experienced by populations most vulnerable to increased disaster occurrence due climate change . It highlights how important it is for governments , NGOs , international organizations , etc.,to provide adequate support systems before , during ,and after natural disasters so vulnerable populations do not suffer disproportionately from them .
Billions of people live in urban poverty, with many forced to reside in disaster-prone areas. Research suggests that such disasters harm child nutrition and increase adult morbidity. However, little is known about impacts on mental health, particularly of people living in slums. In this paper we estimate the effects of flood disasters on the mental and physical health of poor adults and children in urban Indonesia. Our data come from the Indonesia Family Life Survey and new surveys of informal settlement residents. We find that urban poor populations experience increases in acute morbidities and depressive symptoms following floods, that the negative mental health effects last longer, and that the urban wealthy show no health effects from flood exposure. Further analysis suggests that worse economic outcomes may be partly responsible. Overall, the results provide a more nuanced understanding of the morbidities experienced by populations most vulnerable to increased disaster occurrence.
