Impact of natural hazards on morbidity and physical incapacity of vulnerable groups in Mexico

Abstract

Abstract There has been a significant increase in the frequency and intensity of natural hazard events, with consequent adverse impacts on vulnerable groups. The breadth and severity of health impacts extend beyond the event itself and its immediate aftermath. The aim of this study was to explore the association of morbidity and physical incapacity of vulnerable age groups (children and elderly) resulting from exposure to natural hazard events, focusing on adverse health effects that extend for up to five years. Using data from the Mexican Survey on the Evaluation of Urban Households, our results show that morbidity and physical incapacity impacts of natural hazards are disproportionately experienced by children and the elderly compared to non-elderly adults in the population. The odds of increased impacts in terms of morbidity were 38.5% for elderly and 22.9% for children; for physical incapacity, the respective increases were 52.8% for elderly and 13.6% for children. This potential debilitating effect on the health of these groups can amplify their sensitivity to hazard events, increase health inequalities, and compromise the societal goal in the Sendai Framework of ‘building back better’. The overall effectiveness of programmes to reduce the societal and health impact of natural hazards is likely to be enhanced by a combination of improvements across the broader social determinants of health and provision of targeted support for vulnerable groups in the population, such as children and the elderly.